Somebody
by BittyAB18
Summary: Loren Tate was an everyday girl who was sick of being invisible and wanted to become somebody. Along the way, she found herself falling for the one person she told herself not to fall for out of fear of getting hurt. (An A/U version of Loren's rise to fame and romance with Eddie.)
1. Chapter 1

**Somebody**

**Chapter 1**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar, especially not Hollywood Heights or its characters. I do not own any of the music that I use in this story, either.**

**Author's Note: This story is completely AU. I hope you enjoy it. The second verse of **_**Somebody**_** by Bridgit Mendler from the movie **_**Lemonade Mouth**_** is featured in this chapter. I will come back to this song later in the story.**

* * *

Fourteen year old Loren Tate sat down beside the tree, staring out over the hillside, taking in the setting sun as it dipped into the trees. She didn't know what possessed her to come here today, of all days. Today was always a hard day for her, but especially hard for her mother. Every year on this day, Nora would become tense, irritable—sometimes angry; she was never mean to Loren, but she was distant, a lot colder than usual. Loren knew that Nora didn't blame her, nor did she want to act this way towards Loren. Nora was just hurting, blaming herself for what happened. Loren didn't blame her mother, nor did she blame herself, like some kids did. No, the only person she blamed was Trent McCall. Ten years ago today, Trent walked out on his young wife and four year old daughter, changing their lives forever.

Loren stared into the sun, feeling numb. She was sick of feeling sad or angry. More than anything, she was sick of feeling incomplete. She was sick of feeling broken. She opened the diary on her lap to a new, unmarked page. Holding the book open with one hand, Loren pulled a pen out of the chest pocket of her jean jacket. She bit on the cap and pulled it off, flipping the pen around to poke its backend into the opening. She ran her finger along the crease of the book, hearing the crinkle of the paper. She took a moment, taking a deep breath before she placed the pen to the paper.

_September 8, 2008_

_ I woke up this morning at about four, dreaming about the time that you took me to look at the meteor shower. I hadn't thought about that night in a long time, but I guess it is because it has been ten years since I saw you. I woke up crying, not because I was sad, but because I was happy dreaming about that moment that we shared. It made me feel guilty, because I know that Mom is hurting today, maybe even more than me. She blames herself for you not staying. I don't think it is because she still loves you, but I think it is because she feels like it is her fault that you weren't there for me. I don't blame her. I blame you. I don't want to feel sad anymore. I don't want to keep everything pent up inside of me, because I feel like I have to be strong for Mom and for everyone else. I just want to be a normal girl._

She paused, noticing that it had gotten darker, and she knew that her mom would be worried about her. She was starting to lose the light, and she didn't want to be here for too long. She didn't like to be out in the dark too late. She still had a pretty far bike ride back to her house.

_ Did it hurt you to know that Mom and I changed our names back to Mom's maiden name after you left? Does it hurt you to know that ten years have passed, and you didn't get to see me grow up? It hurts me to know that you didn't want me. It hurts me even worse to know that you didn't want Mom. She is the best person I know, and I can't imagine what possessed you to fall out of love with her. She is amazing. I choose not to be angry with you today, because it brought me back to the spot where we saw the meteor shower. It is so beautiful and inspiring, and it makes me feel so small and insignificant in comparison to the rest of the world. I can't help but feel like my problems are miniscule compared to the world around me._

She smiled, looking as the last of the sun drifted below the trees. She felt the urge to write a poem then. Not to her father, but for herself. For the world. She could almost hear the rhythm the words would be spoken in. They were almost melodic.

_I'm so tired  
Of being invisible  
But, I feel it, yeah  
Like a fire below the surface  
Trying to set me free  
Burnin' inside of me  
Cause we're standing on the edge now  
It's a long way down_

Loren heard the stick snap behind her. She stood up quickly, suddenly feeling nervous, because it was darker out. She was alone on the top of a mountain, and no one knew she was here. She had told her mom that she was going out for a bike ride, but she didn't realize where she was going until she had found herself stopping at the base of the mountain. She closed her diary around the pen, clutching it to her chest.

A boy, older by a few years, stepped out of the shadows. "Sorry to startle you. I saw the bike down there, but I didn't think anyone was up here." He said quietly.

"It's fine. I was just leaving." Loren walked past him quickly, never looking back.

* * *

"I could kill Phil," Melissa said as they walked out of the _Avalon_. "He kept the good tickets for him and Satan's Spawn, I am sure. He gave us the fakes, because he is such an ass."

"Let's just get out of here." Loren said dejectedly. She had gotten her hopes up about seeing Eddie Duran's concert that night, but as always nothing ever seems to go right in her life.

"No, we are getting into that concert. I promised you a night that you would never forget, and that means we are getting into that concert!" Melissa said, grabbing Loren's hand and pulling her into the alley way.

"What are we doing back here?" Loren wanted to know, raising a single eyebrow at her best friend as Melissa snuck up to the unguarded door to the back of the club.

"We are breaking in."

"Are you serious? We could get arrested!"

"We aren't going to get arrested, Loren. We are two normally well-behaved, law-abiding girls, and I promised you a great eighteenth birthday, so we are getting into the club!"

"Melissa, you are still seventeen, so you will get a slap on the wrist at worst! I will get arrested—possibly with jail time—since, as you pointed out, my eighteenth birthday is TODAY!"

"Like breaking and entering wasn't on your bucket list," Melissa scoffed as she laid her hand on the door to the club, glancing back and forth to make sure no one but them was around.

"Um, it most certainly is not!" Loren squeaked.

"Oh, really? Cause it is on mine." Of course it is, Loren thought. Melissa pulled at the door handle, and surprisingly, the door opened. "Holy shit, this is going to be easy!" She whispered, sneaking through the door. "Come on!" The two girls eased into the building, stealthy walking down the hallways as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, Melissa had chosen to wear high heels that night, so the heels kept making clicking noises on the linoleum. Sighing, she bent and pulled her shoes off, holding one out to Loren.

"Why are you giving me your shoe?" Loren asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"In case we need a weapon." Loren rolled her eyes, but took a shoe from her best friend. Melissa held hers up in the air behind her head, ready to hit at a moment's notice. It took everything she had not to laugh at Melissa's antics.

Somehow they made it the clubs main room, sneaking into the massive crowd. They made their way to the front of the stage, and when they got there, Loren and Melissa burst out laughing. Melissa took out her cell phone and began to record Loren. "How does it feel to have successfully broken into a club to see a concert?"

"I cannot believe that you made me do that! I also cannot believe that we got away with it!" Loren laughed.

"Loren Tate, is this the best birthday you have ever had?"

"YES!" She shook her head enthusiastically. The lights began to dim and the show began.

Later that night, Loren was seated at her desk, writing in her diary. She wrote about how wonderful her birthday was, shared with the three most important people in her life. She woke up to her favorite breakfast with her mom, who gave her a brand new guitar. It was much more expensive than the one she had been using for years. It sounded so beautiful when she strummed her fingers over the strings. Her birthday had fallen on a Friday this year, which meant that she didn't have to worry about being up late for the concert and be tired for school the next day. She got to spend the day with her best friend in the whole world, and the two of them met Loren's mom for an expensive dinner at Rumor to celebrate Loren's becoming an adult. Then, Mel and Loren had gone to the concert; sure, there was the small hiccup of the tickets being fakes, but they were able to break into the club to see the concert anyway. Finally, Loren got to hold Eddie Duran's hand as he sang a few lines of his song. It was the most amazing night ever. She had been so inspired by the moment with Eddie that she had come home immediately after the concert and wrote a song about it. Sure, it was kind of childish in a way, but she felt this overwhelming connection pass between him and her when their hands touched.

But, as always, as she began to finish her diary entry about her birthday, a massive pit of despair would build up in her stomach. Her heart would fall to her stomach, and she would begin to feel sick. Her hands would begin shaking, and she would begin to see black spots in her eyes. Loren placed her hands flat on the desk and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. When she composed herself enough, she grabbed the black Sharpie from the cup of writing utensils on her desk. She turned to her calendar (this year's calendar was horse themed) and placed an 'X' on today's box: Friday, September 7, 2012. A tear slipped from her eye as she put the cap back on the marker and put it back into the cup on the table. Tomorrow marked the fourteenth anniversary since her father had left, and it was going to suck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Somebody**

**Chapter 2**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights **_**Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar. **

**Song Recommendation: **_**Mars**_** by Loren Tate/Brittany Underwood**

**Author's Note: Once I wrote the first chapter of this story, I couldn't get it out of my head, so I had to write the next chapter already. Please review! I would love to know what you think about the story and any ideas you might have about where you want to see it go. I welcome constructive criticism! I am making up the fact that there was the meteor shower on September 7****th****, 1998. I don't know if this is true or not. **

* * *

Loren had only gotten about four hours of sleep when she awoke with tears in her eyes, gasping for breath. She tried to hold in the tears, not wanting to disturb her mother, especially not today. Grabbing her pillow, she buried her face into it to muffle her sobs. She clutched the pillow to her chest and laid back down, hoping that she would be able to fall back to sleep.

Loren laid there for about ten minutes before she realized that sleep was not going to come. Sighing, she rolled over to look at the clock on her bedside table; it read 4:32 AM, the bright blue light burning into her eyes. Groaning, she threw the covers off of herself and walked into the bathroom to wash her face. The cool water felt good against her skin, calming her for a moment. Loren looked in the mirror, pouting at the puffiness of her eyes from crying and the dark circles that had appeared beneath them. She angrily began brushing her teeth. She may as well get up and ready for her day.

After Loren had finished up in the bathroom, she walked into the kitchen to begin preparing some coffee; she knew she was going to need it today after having gotten hardly any sleep. She munched on a banana while she waited for the coffee to finish, pouring a large mug to take back to her room. She turned on her desk lamp and opened her History textbook to begin outlining the chapter assigned for homework.

At about five, the sun began to rise and the sky became a pinkish-purple that she loved. She still felt restless, and she had gotten about halfway through the chapter before she realized that she could just sit there. She was tired, but she was twitching with the need to move. She decided that the only way she could work off this pent up emotion inside of her was to go for a run. Loren jumped up from her desk and raced over to her dresser, pulling out a sports bra and new underwear, a pair of ankle socks, and a pair of stretchy Capri pants with an elastic waistband. She tore off her pajamas and began pulling on the workout clothes. Fumbling in her closet, Loren finally came across her running shoes. It was still so early, so it was likely that Loren would be able to go for a run and get back before her mother even woke.

Loren plugged her headphones into her phone, blasting her favorite song to exercise to (an Eddie Duran song, of course), before she headed to the kitchen to leave a note for her mom in case Nora did wake before she got back. By 5:15 in the morning, she was out the door and running.

Without even realizing it, Loren was running the mile and half to the mountain she had been coming to for the last four years; she considered it to be her secret spot, the one good thing that came out of her father's abandonment. Ever since that day four years ago, Loren couldn't seem to stop going back; every fight with her mom or Mel or a boyfriend, she found herself biking or running or walking or driving to that spot. It helped her to put things in perspective, to forget about her own problems for awhile. She raced up the hill and collapsed on the ground beside the tree, ignoring the pain she felt in her knees when she fell to them on an assortment of rocks and sticks.

She began to sob, burying her face in her hands. There were only a few times that the pain seemed to overwhelm her, and she found herself no longer being able to contain it. She let herself cry for a few moments before she was able to compose herself enough to sit down, stretching her legs out before her. Loren didn't care that the sticks, dirt, and a few pieces of grass were sticking to her sweaty legs. She just wiped the tears from her cheeks and stared out over the edge. The pain turned into anger and she looked around before setting her eyes on a rock. She grabbed and threw with all of her might, watching it disappear over the side of the hill. It helped for a moment, so Loren continued to look for rocks to throw over the edge.

Her headphones were in her ears, blasting music loudly (now Adele), so she didn't hear the approach of a person. She just continued to throw rocks with all of her might over the edge. There was a moment of silence before next song began when she heard someone cough. She jumped up, pulling the headphones from her ears and backed against the tree, taking in the appearance of a man with a hat pulled low over his face. "Sorry to disturb," the man said. His voice sounded familiar, so Loren looked more closely at his face. He was turned away from her, just staring at the view. It took her a moment, but she found herself knowing exactly who he was. "I guess we both had the same idea of coming here to get away and be alone." He folded his hands together, turning to look at her fully for the first time. Looking directly into his face, she was able to confirm her suspicions.

"You are Eddie Duran," Loren said quietly. She was suddenly too exhausted to be excited over meeting possibly her favorite musician of all time. She was also feeling too confused, angry, and sad to even care at the moment. Right now, he was an interloper at her secret place—the one disturbing her as she tried to relieve herself of all of her pent up emotions.

"Yeah," he looked relieved that she wasn't acting like an utter idiot over meeting a celebrity. He must be used to everyone, especially women, throwing themselves at him, begging for autographs or to father their children. "Aren't you cold?" He asked. Loren frowned, confused. He nodded to her clothes, and she glanced down, realizing she hadn't even grabbed a shirt over her sports bra. She realized now that the wind was picking up and it was still rather cool since it was the early morning. Her body glistened with sweat and dirt clung to her, and suddenly she felt exposed, goose bumps erupting across her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I didn't even think about it until now. I guess the runner's high wore off." He nodded, pulling off his lightweight jacket and holding it out to her.

"Take it. I will be fine in my t-shirt."

"Thanks for the offer, but you don't have to."

"I'm serious. Take it." He gave her a soft smile, which Loren couldn't help returning. She put her phone down on the branch of the tree before carefully stepping forward to take the jacket. She paused for a moment when her hand clasped around it, looking at him for further confirmation. At his small nod, Loren took it from his hands and pulled in on quickly. It was huge on her, falling a few inches short of her knees, and she had to fold the cuffs until her hands were exposed. He laughed, taking in her appearance. "Looks good." She rolled her eyes, turning so that she could lean her body against the tree.

"This is my secret spot," Loren said after a few moments of silence between them. "I come here when I need to think." She paused. "It helps me forget about my problems for a moment; it makes me feel small."

"Most of the time, people don't like to feel small." Eddie said. She felt his eyes on her.

"Normally, no, but here it is okay. It makes me feel like there are so many worse things in the world, and my problems are so small in comparison. It inspires me."

"I come here to think, too, but I have a different spot I go to for inspiration." Loren nodded, letting him talk for a while. "This is the place I go when I need to get away from everyone and be alone." She cocked her head to the side, hearing the hint in his voice. "September 8th is always a hard day for me, and I like to come here, because it is so empty." Yup, she thought, he is definitely trying to goad her into leaving. Well, screw him if he thinks that she would immediately go running just because he is a celebrity. She stayed silent, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. If he wanted her gone, then he was going to have to come right out and say it. They were silent for awhile before Eddie began to laugh. It wasn't a happy laugh, but one that was humorless. "You are going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Yes." Loren paused. "And even then, I am not going to leave."

"Even if I asked nicely?"

"Nope."

"Even if I told you that I needed to be here alone today, because today is the day that my mom died?" Loren closed her eyes, feeling suddenly sad for him. She knew that his mom died in a car accident, but she didn't know it was on September 8th. It is only fitting, though, because this day sucks. But, she wasn't going to leave, because she was hurting for a hell of a lot longer than him. Plus, he should take comfort in knowing that his mom left because she had no choice, not because she decided she didn't want to be a wife and mother anymore. Not to mention, he got to grow up knowing her and feeling her love. Loren didn't get that.

"I am sorry for your loss," Loren said quietly. "I really am. I know that this place is special to you, but I can't leave." She felt the tears begin to spill out of her cheeks, and she tried so hard to hold back the sob that was threatening to spill out. "I c-c-can't leave…" She took a deep breath, trying to still the tremor in her voice. She was shaking, and the sadness and anger bubbled up inside of her again. Loren grabbed a rock and threw it as hard as she could over the edge.

"Um…" Eddie began, taking a step towards her.

"Fourteen years ago yesterday, there was a meteor shower at about 3:30 in the morning. My father pulled me out of bed and snuck me out of the house and brought me here so that we could watch it. After it was over, he brought me to a diner that was open all night long, and we got waffles and ice cream sundaes. When we got home, my mom was so mad at him for waking me up and bringing me here. But, she saw how happy I was, so she let it go. We spent the best day together, the three of us. It was so amazing." She took a deep breath, wiping at her cheeks again. She didn't talk about this, and she didn't know why it was suddenly so easy to start spilling her guts to a complete stranger, especially one who turned out to be her idol.

"Fourteen years ago today, my father walked out the door to get a pack of cigarettes and never came back; the funny thing is that he didn't even smoke." Loren looked into Eddie's eyes, shrugging her shoulders. "Three weeks later, my mom found an envelope in our mailbox at the shitty, shoebox apartment we were living in, with no return address. Inside there was a letter from my father, apologizing to her and saying that he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't be a father; he couldn't be a husband. In the envelope were also signed divorce papers that essentially left everything they owned and shared to my mom, including all of his legal rights to me. He gave her instructions in his letter on where to file the divorce papers when she signed them, and had the fucking nerve to sign the letter with 'Love, Trent.'" Loren grabbed another rock and threw it over the edge again.

Eddie opened his mouth to say something, but Loren just shook her head. "I think I failed to mention that September 7th is my birthday. So, Eddie Duran, this is why I can't leave. This is the last place that I have a good memory of my dad." Loren turned away from him then, resting her head against the bark of the tree. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer, and her shoulders began to shake as she began to cry.

She felt him move up behind her. She jumped when she felt his hand land on her shoulder, squeezing it for a moment, before it retreated. She didn't know what possessed her, but she turned around and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. Eddie stood there a moment, obviously shocked, but soon he wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him. Loren cried for a few minutes before she was able to calm down and realize just what she was doing and who she was doing it with. "Oh, God! I am so sorry," Loren gasped, pulling away from Eddie and moving away from him. "I am going to leave now and die under a rock out of shame. Bye!" She started running down the hill and away from Eddie so that she could stop making a fool out of herself.

By the time that she got back home, Loren felt better about everything, because he didn't know her name or anything about her. She came barreling through the door, to find her mom in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee. "Oh, thank God, Loren. You're home. I tried calling your phone, but you never picked up; I was worried about you. I heard you leave a little after five, but you have been gone for so long. Did you get hit by a car or something? You are a mess!"

"I didn't hear my phone ring, and I didn't get hit by anything, I just sat in some dirt for awhile. Why? What time is it?"

"Almost eight. Is that new?" Nora asked, pointing at Loren. She frowned, looking down.

"Shit! I forgot to give it back." She muttered, pulling the jacket off and dropping it to the floor. Suddenly, she realized why she didn't hear her phone ring—she didn't have it. "Shit! I left my phone!"

"Where did you leave it? Whose jacket is that?" Nora asked, putting the cup down. "Also, watch your language, please."

"Sorry." Loren muttered as she sat down on the arm chair by the door. "I cannot believe I left my phone! I am such an idiot."

"It is fine, Loren. We will get you a new one, but I am more concerned about whose jacket you borrowed." Nora crossed her arms over her chest. She was getting all protective and Mama Bear like, Loren noticed; she was probably concerned about who her daughter met on her 'run' in the early hours of the morning.

"The phone is a bigger deal than the jacket, Mom, because of what is on my phone and who it was left with."

"Exactly! Get to the _who_ part, please." Loren laughed humorlessly at her mom's protective streak. She hated to give away her secret spot, but she knew it was time that she told her mother the truth.

"I ran to the mountain where Trent took me to see the meteor shower." Loren said quietly. "While I was there, crying and throwing rocks over the edge like a crazy person, Eddie Duran happened to walk up." Nora's face was almost funny; it was a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

"Wait, what? Eddie Duran, as in _Eddie Duran_?"

"The one and only. Apparently, today is the day that his mom died two years ago, and he was hoping that by telling me that, it would get me to leave the mountain so that he could be alone. I couldn't help it, but I was feeling so many different emotions about Trent right then, but I spilled my guts about us and how he…well, yeah." Loren wiped the dirt off her legs. "I must have left my phone on the tree branch after I pulled on the jacket."

"Okay, so you have Eddie Duran's jacket…why?"

"Well, I was in a sports bra and it was windy and kind of cold. I guess he didn't want me to get cold?"

"Or, because your nipples were showing through your sports bra." Nora deadpanned, pointing at Loren's chest. Loren glanced down and laughed.

"That would be the first that a guy didn't want to check out a girl's breasts. I would say that is a sign that he plays for another team, but he is dating one of the most beautiful models in the world, so I doubt it. I guess he is just a genuinely nice guy."

"Thank God you came across one of those!" Nora said, dropping onto the couch in front of her daughter. "So, what is on your phone that has you so worried?"

Loren groaned, dropping her face into her hands. "Me…singing…"

"Oh?" Nora asked with a small smile on her face.

"Yes! How embarrassing is that! He might hear how awful I really am."

"Loren, that is ridiculous! You are one of the most talented singers that I know!" Loren scoffed, rolling her eyes at her mom. "I know you are afraid of letting people hear you sing, but I have listened to you from outside of your door, and you sound so beautiful, baby."

"Stop! You have to say that, because you are my mom."

"No, actually, it is my job as your mom to protect you, and I would most definitely would NOT be one of those moms telling you that you are an amazing singer so that you feel like you could go on American Idol or something and try out only to be featured as one of the bad singers that people make fun of. I would tell you straight out that you might sound good to me because you are my kid, but don't plan on making a career out of it if you were really bad." Loren laughed.

"Thanks." She muttered. "Either way, I don't want Eddie Duran listening to recordings of not only me singing, but me singing original lyrics into my phone so that I can remember the lyrics and the melody and rhythm I want them in."

"Oh, honey. Maybe he won't even go through your phone that much. He might just get people to start calling your contacts to find out where to send it back."

"Hopefully!" Loren sighed. "I am going to take a shower. What should I do with his jacket?"

"Hide it under your pillow so that you can keep his scent for as long as possible?" Nora jokingly suggested.

"Mom!"

"Kidding! Why don't you wash it and then return it to his manager's office?"

"Yeah, I guess that works." Loren stood up and grabbed the jacket off the floor before heading toward her room to shower.

* * *

An hour later, Loren was showered and dressed, sitting at her desk while she worked on the rest of her homework. She jumped when her door flew open and her best friend came stumbling in. "Loren Tate! I have been calling and texting you all morning, and you haven't been answering anything. What did I do?" Melissa asked as she dropped onto Loren's bed.

"Nothing. I lost my phone." Loren said as she turned face Melissa. She wondered why Eddie didn't answer, or why any of his people didn't answer, asking where to send her phone. Unless he didn't have it, which means someone else might find it.

"Oh, that sucks." Melissa pointed to Loren's laptop that was on her bed. "May I?"

"Sure." Loren turned back to her homework.

"Aww, cute." Melissa said after a few moments. "Eddie tweeted some lyrics. They aren't like his other stuff, but they are cute." Loren froze, pressing the point of her pen hard against the paper. "Oh, my god! Check out what he tweeted!" Loren dropped the pen and raced over to her bed, afraid that he mentioned her name on his twitter. Although, Melissa would be freaking out more if he mentioned her name. "I wonder if he is stepping out on Chloe; check it out." Melissa turned the laptop so that Loren could see the screen. Loren gasped, seeing that he had tweeted HER lyrics and her initials.

_ theREAL_EddieDuran: They tell me it's nice this time of year / down on earth / But, my heads been in the cloud / I am acting weird and lost for words_

_ theREAL_EddieDuran: Falling like the stars / I'm falling fast and hard / for something out of reach_

_ theREAL_EddieDuran: Beautiful lyrics from a mystery girl I met this morning. Now I see how small my problems are compared to the rest of the world. Thanks, L.T._

_ theREAL_EddieDuran: I have something of yours to return. Meet you there at eight?_

"So, do you think he is cheating on Chloe? Who is this girl?" Melissa looked scandalized, grinning like a loon over the idea that there may be trouble between Eddie and Chloe.

"No, I don't think he is cheating." Loren said quietly. "Question, did you happen to text my full name to my cell this morning?"

"What? I don't know. Maybe? Probably; I do call you Loren Tate a lot. Why does that matter?"

"I have to tell you something." Loren said quietly. "Mom!" She yelled loudly out her door. "MOM! COME HERE!"

"What? What's wrong, Loren?" Nora said, running into her room. "What happened?" Loren pointed to the screen. Nora frowned before leaning over to look at the laptop that was open on the bed. Melissa was looking between the two of them obviously confused. "Oh, my…I guess I was wrong?" Nora said, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.

"You think?" Loren said moaned, embarrassed that he found her lyrics.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE WRONG?" Melissa said loudly when no one began explaining what was happening to her.

"This." Loren grabbed her laptop and searched until she found a video she recorded of herself playing the guitar and singing a completed version of _Mars_ on her bed. She turned the laptop to face Melissa and hit play. Suddenly, Loren's voice and strums on the guitar filled the room as she sang the lyrics that Eddie Duran had tweeted not too long ago.

"HOLY SHIT!?" Melissa screeched, holding the laptop about five inches from her face. "How in the hell did Eddie Duran get this?"

"He has my phone." Loren told her, taking the laptop back from Melissa. "I guess I am meeting him tonight at eight, but where?" She said looking at her mom, confused. "I can give him his jacket back and get my phone."

"What jacket?" Melissa gasped, clutching her chest.

"He lent me his jacket," Loren said, laughing.

"You are not giving that jacket back; if you are not going to keep it, then you will sell it on eBay and make enough money to afford college without any scholarships." Loren smacked Melissa gently on the arm.

"No, I am going to return it to him."

"How in the hell did you get his jacket?" Loren told Melissa the story of that morning. She had never told Melissa about how hard this day was for her or that her father had left her the day after her birthday. Melissa only knew that Trent had left when Loren was four. "Wow," was all Melissa could say before she squealed excitedly. "I can't wait to tweet about this!"

"No! Melissa, all that is going to come from this is an exchange of the jacket and cell phone. Nothing else. I just don't know where I am supposed to go. All he said is that he would see me there at eight. Where is there?"

"Duh, your secret spot." Melissa said. "You guys have a secret spot together, and he wants to meet you there!"

"I guess that makes sense, but it isn't our secret spot together. We just both happened to be there today." Loren waved off Melissa's ridiculous idea of them having a secret spot together.

"Are those the only lyrics he had, or is there more of the song on your phone?" Melissa asked, as she began to look at gossip sites on Loren's laptop to see if anyone was saying anything about Eddie's tweets.

"Yeah, just those lyrics. I was driving when those few lines popped into my head, so I recorded them and then finished the song later. Thank God." Loren said. "At least he didn't have the whole song. That would have been so embarrassing."

"Oh, come on, Loren! That song was gorgeous, and your voice was so beautiful." Nora said, kneeling beside her daughter.

"The song isn't good at all. I sound pitchy and awful. I would hate it if he heard the whole thing."

"Oops." Melissa said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "I guess that I just did something bad then."

"Melissa what did you do?!"

"I may or may not have attached the video to my blog and tweeted a link to the page with the full song on it to Eddie."

"WHAT?!" Loren grabbed the laptop from Melissa and refreshed the page. Sure enough, she saw a new tweet from Mel's account: DramaQueenMelS. It read: checkout L.T.'s the full song here, followed by the link to Mel's blog. Loren clicked on it, and it brought her to a new post on Melissa's blog. The title read: Loren's Kicking Ass and Taking Names! Loren read the post, feeling the dread build up in her stomach.

_**Loren's Kicking Ass and Taking Names!**__  
There are many reasons why I love my bestest friend in the whole wide world. But, today I learned another one: my girl can really SING! Check out Loren singing her original song, _Mars._ Sexy, right?_

"I think I am going to be sick." Loren jumped off the bed and ran to her en suite bathroom. She dropped before the toilet and moaned.

"Oh, it isn't that bad," Melissa called out to her. "Oh, my god! Eddie just retweeted the link! Loren, get your butt in here!"

"NO!" She moaned, laying her head on the cool porcelain. "I hate you, Mel!"

"Except you really don't. Loren, this is great. He just tweeted saying that everyone should check out the video on my blog, because he thinks you are crazy talented!"

"Honey, this is so exciting." Nora said, laughing and clapping her hands together.

"My life is ruined!" Loren said as she came into the room. "I am so embarrassed."

"You shouldn't be. My twitter is exploding with people following me. Holy crap, these people saw all the tweets between us, and they are following you now like crazy. You have close to 10,000 followers now."

"Really?"

"Really. No bad tweets from what I can tell. Here, sign in to yours."

"Okay." Loren took the laptop and signed into her account. She got a flood of messages saying people loved her song. "Wow. People like it?" She smiled, beginning to feel better about everyone seeing her song. "Eddie's following me, now." She bit her lip, trying to keep the grin off her face. Her eyes lit up as he tweeted her directly.

_ theREAL_EddieDuran: Love_To_Love_You Loren Tate, you could be a star. I am your #number1fan _

She quickly typed a response to his latest tweet and then tweeted her own message to the world.

_ Love_To_Love_You: theREAL_EddieDuran I guess the password on my phone is too easy to crack. I am going to have to do something about that after I get it back!_

_ Love_To_Love_You: It has been 14 years today since I saw you last, but today is the first time it stopped hurting as much as it did before. _

Loren figured that tweet would get everyone speculating what her cryptic text meant, because Eddie said that he met her only that morning, so it couldn't have been about him. The only people would be able to understand it would be her, her mom, Melissa, and Eddie.

"So, can I come with you tonight when you meet him? I want to film it for my blog."

"No!" Loren jumped up suddenly. "I should wash his jacket so that it is clean for tonight."

"I will pick out what clothes you should wear tonight. Nora, help please?"

"Stop acting like it is a date." Loren laughed as she left the room to wash the jacket. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she thought about seeing him again tonight. This was turning out as a good day after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Somebody**

**Chapter 3**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song recommendation: **_**Superstar**_** by Taylor Swift**

**Author's note: Is it possible to be addicted to your own story? I haven't felt inspired like this in so long! I can't seem to stop writing this. This is a new record for me, three chapters within two days. This will be my last chapter until I get some of my graduate schoolwork done, so I am not sure when I will next have a chapter for you. I have no idea if they ever mentioned Cameron's last name, so I am going to make one up. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know and I will change it!  
**

* * *

It took Loren about an hour to convince Melissa that she was not going to change out of the clothing she had put on that morning after her shower. She was sweaty and crying when she met him earlier, and he still interacted with her and was impressed by her music, so she felt like she didn't need to dress up for him when she was only going to exchange her phone for his jacket. Besides, Loren felt the jeans she was wearing made her butt look good, and the oversized plum sweater that fell off her right shoulder, revealing the dark gray lacy tank she had paired it with looked cute. The black knee high boots that she wore over her the skinny jeans gave her an extra inch. The most she had done to 'get ready' for the meeting with Eddie was run the straightener through her hair again and applied a pink gloss to the makeup she had already styled to look natural but accentuating. She felt like her usual put together self, a hundred times better than when she had met him that morning.

"But…but…" Melissa kept saying holding the blue strapless dress out to Loren. "This looks so good on you!"

"I know, but I am not changing." Loren rolled her eyes at Melissa. "How about this, you can pick out the outfit I am going to wear tomorrow for when I tutor Cameron." She giggled at the pout on Melissa's face.

"That is such a letdown compared to picking out an outfit for Eddie Duran!" Melissa sighed as she looked at the dress longingly in her hands. "You would have been perfect. I am so sorry."

"What if I wore it tomorrow with Cam?"

"It isn't the same! Cam is just yuck, and Eddie is all yum."

"Since when is Cameron 'yuck?' You have been encouraging me to start hanging out with him again, because you think we would make, and I quote, 'model-like babies.' You were the one saying that we made a really cute couple and that we should get back together. What happened to that?"

"Yeah, Cam is great for a high school boy, but Eddie is so much better, Lo. You could do so much better with Eddie."

"I am not dating Eddie! I met him today. He has a very beautiful model girlfriend, remember? He wouldn't want me, and I am not sure if I would even want to date him. It would ruin the fantasy I have of him, you know? Instead of the frog turning into the prince, it would be like the prince turning into the frog."

"You are so much better and prettier and nicer than Chloe Carter." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Of course I am not more attractive than her; she is a freaking model. I am just a normal girl."

"Not for long, Lo. Everyone is loving your song." Melissa said, smiling. "I still haven't heard a thank you."

"Oh, I am so sorry." Loren dropped to her knees in front of her. Melissa squealed, pulling her phone out.

"Wait, let me record this to post on my blog!" Loren stuck her tongue out before clasping her hands together in gratitude and put on her best soap opera-like face of admiration.

"Oh, Melissa Sanders! I thank you so much for going behind my back and posting the horrendously filmed video of me singing an original song that was never, ever supposed to be shown to the world and officially making me into a one-hit internet wonder. I will be forever in your gratitude and will spend the remainder of my days trying my damndest to repay you." By the end of, Loren's tone became less sarcastic and more snarky, with her eyes narrowed.

Melissa turned the phone toward her face. "Uh-oh, folks! I better hide all of my embarrassing photos!" She gave a big smile and a wink before turning off the recording. "There! That is going on my blog and twitter in three, two, and one." Loren groaned before standing up. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. She still had about an hour and a half before she needed to meet up with Eddie, but she wanted to work on the new song she wrote after the concert the night before without having her mom or Melissa breathing down her neck.

"I am gonna leave now."

"Why? It is only 6:30." Melissa asked, confused.

"I am gonna go early so that I can work on my new song a bit. It was late last night when I wrote it, and I didn't want to disturb my mom by playing it on the guitar. So, I want to go early and play it, figure out how it sounds with music. Make some tweaks, that kind of thing."

"Oh, admit it! You want to have a jam session with Eddie, don't you?"

"No, honestly, the second I realize he is there, the guitar is going away and I am shoving the jacket into his hands. As soon as I get my phone back, I will text you that I am leaving, and we can meet up at the café for ice cream sundaes and I can tell you all about how I gave him his jacket, took my phone, and waved goodbye." Melissa pouted, stamping her foot like a child.

"You are no fun! Let me live vicariously through you, Lo. Please do something adventurous like play it for him or something?"

"Hell, no! This song is totally cheese and just for my eyes and ears only."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because…?" Lore glared at Mel.

"Fine, because I wrote about the concert and being a total fan girl, okay!"

"Ha! That is great. I must hear it, and I can post it on my page."

"You are such a jerk. I am leaving." Loren grabbed the jacket, her guitar case, her laptop case, and the keys to her mother's car. She left her room, with Melissa following, and stuck her head in her mom's door. Her mom was sitting at her vanity, doing her makeup as she got ready for her date.

"Bye, Mom. Have a great date with Dr. Don. Thanks again for letting me use the car."

"It is no problem, Loren. Have fun, honey!" Loren sighed, knowing that her mom was being just as annoying about this as Melissa, but hers was much more teasing in comparison to Melissa's seriousness.

The two girls got into their separate cars, with Melissa going back home and Loren headed to the mountain. She found herself getting ridiculously nervous about meeting Eddie, because she had made such a fool of herself early that day. When she got to her secret spot, she parked as close to the tree as she could. After grabbing everything she brought with her, she locked her car and set herself up next to the tree. She opened her laptop to get some light and to record the audio for her new song. Loren pulled out her diary from her purse and held it open to the right page with her name. Setting the guitar on her lap, she began to strum it until she found the right chord to start with. She then began playing and singing.

"_This is wrong but_  
_I can't help but feel like_  
_There ain't nothing more right, babe_  
_Misty morning comes again, and I can't_  
_Help but wish I could see your face_

_"I knew from the first note played_  
_I'd be breaking all my rules to see you_

_"You smile that beautiful smile_  
_And, all the girls in the front row_  
_Scream your name_

_"So, dim that spotlight_  
_Tell me things like_  
_I can't take my eyes off of you_  
_I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl_  
_Who's desperately in love with you_  
_Give me a photograph_  
_To hang on my wall,_  
_Superstar."_

She paused, deciding to add a little instrumental to the song before beginning the next verse.

_"Good morning loneliness_  
_Comes around when I'm not dreaming about you_  
_When my world wakes up today,_  
_You'll be in another town_

_"And, I knew when I saw your face, I'd be_  
_Counting down the ways to see you_

_"You smile that beautiful smile_  
_And, all the girls in the front row_  
_Scream your name_

_"So dim that spotlight_  
_Tell me things like_  
_I can't take my eyes off of you_  
_I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl_  
_Who's desperately in love with you_  
_Give me a photograph_  
_To hang on my wall,_  
_Superstar_

_"You played in bars; you play guitar_  
_I'm invisible, and everyone knows who you are_  
_And, you'll never see you sing me to sleep_  
_Every night from the radio_

_"So dim that spotlight_  
_Tell me things like_  
_I can't take my eyes off of you_  
_I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl_  
_Who's desperately in love with you_  
_Give me a photograph_  
_To hang on my wall_  
_Superstar_

_"Sweet, sweet superstar_  
_Superstar."_

She grinned at the end of the song. There were only a few minor tweaks to be made from the music she heard in her head to make it better fit the song. She strummed a few of the parts, making the necessary changes before deciding she was ready for her first recording of it. She set up the laptop to start recording and began the song again.

When Loren finished the song and turned off the recording, she heard someone clapping behind her. She jumped, letting out of a squeak of surprise. Eddie laughed as he came over to where she was sitting. "I got here early, so I told my driver to drop me off and go get something to eat. I figured I would wait up here until you got here, but imagine my surprise when I heard someone singing up here." He laughed.

"Yeah, I thought I would work on my song for awhile."

"It's good." He sat down next to her, grabbing the guitar from her hands. "I really liked it." He strummed her guitar, and Loren wondered how it sounded a thousand times better in his hands than hers. "Who's it about?"

"No one." She said, blushing as she closed her diary and put it in her purse. She pulled his jacket out of her empty guitar case and went to hand it to him. "Here."

"Oh, you can keep it. It looked better on you than me." Loren shook her head.

"I can't."

"Of course you can. Besides, I feel like I should give you a present, considering you wrote a song about me."

"I did not write a song about you!" Loren said, shocked. Eddie laughed, nodding his head at her.

"Um, yes, that song is definitely about me. It's cute."

"How would you know?" She asked defensively, completely embarrassed.

"I saw the video on your friend's blog on my concert. It fits with the song. By the way, you broke into the _Avalon_? Really?" Loren laughed.

"It was my eighteenth birthday, and I had never done anything crazy in my life. Why not break into a club to see a concert after the person who my best friend bought tickets from sold her fakes? Melissa's brother is a real jackass for doing that, but I digress."

"Her brother sold her fake tickets?"

"Yeah, he probably got us the tickets originally, and when he found out his girlfriend wanted to go to the concert, he made fakes to give to us. Then, he played it off like he didn't know that they were fakes." Loren rolled her eyes. "But, I feel like you should know that I am not in love with you. No matter what you think."

"Of course you are. I am Eddie Duran; every girl loves me." Loren smacked his arm. "No, I know what you mean. You love my music, and you think I am cute. I am your celebrity crush." She gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Actually, I think that the more that I talk to you, the more I kind of hate you." She told him.

"Nah, you don't hate me! You can't hate me; you love me too much." He nudged her shoulder with his and began strumming her guitar again. "So, you were the girl in the crowd whose hand I grabbed?"

"You remember that?" Loren asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I usually just tap people's hands as I go by, but for some reason, I grabbed your hand and held it for a moment." He shrugged. "I guess it was fate, because I was meant to meet you and find your phone and tweet your lyrics. And, here we are."

"Speaking of which, my phone please!" Loren said, holding her hand out. "You know, there is probably a law that you broke by breaking into my phone and going through it. I could get you arrested."

"For what? Breaking and tweeting?" He laughed at his own joke. Loren rolled her eyes, her palm still extended for the phone.

"Fine, here." He handed her the phone, and Loren immediately opened it and began scrolling through her texts.

"You got a lot calls and texts from Melissa, who I am assuming was the girl who directed me to her blog."

"Yeah," Loren said, reading all the silly texts Mel had sent her about how dumb Phil was, how much of a bitch Adrianna was, and how oppressive her mother, Lisa, was. There were a few texts from Adam saying that he saw her song on Mel's blog, and he reposted it on his, and his friends reposted it on theirs, so it was beginning to spread like wildfire. Not counting all the people who followed Eddie had did the same. She was already getting thousands of hits on a version someone had posted on YouTube. "This is insane."

"There are a couple of texts from some guy named Cameron." Eddie grinned at her. "Is he your boyfriend?" He said in a teasing, sing-songy voice.

"Hey! You can't read my private text messages!" Loren smacked his arm again. "Jerk!" She went through her inbox to find the messages from Cameron.

"Well, he wouldn't stop texting when no one responded, and I was afraid he was going to call the cops or something, so I texted him back. He says he can't come over tomorrow. There was something about a practice. I told him you were in the shower which is why you didn't get back to him right away."

"First of all, why didn't you just say that you found my phone and you were returning it to me? Like a normal person would." Loren asked. "Second of all, your excuse for my not responding to his texts was because I had been in the _shower_? Seriously? You couldn't come up with something better?"

"Well, I almost sent that you were in the bathroom, but I figured saying the shower was better." Eddie laughed, winking at her.

"You are such an ass! I thought you were a nice guy because of all the pictures of you at charity events and being nice to your fans, but I now know you are really just a big jerk."

"Yeah, I am not that nice." He laughed, winking. "I am only nice when I like the person."

"Oh? You don't even know me, and you already decided you don't like me?" Loren pouted. "I'm hurt. I will have you know that I am a _very_ nice person." She went back to the phone, looking at the 'conversation' Eddie and Cameron had today.

_Cameron: Lo, I can't come by tomorrow. Coach sprung a last minute practice on us, so I have to bail. Can we meet early before school at the café. I will buy breakfast to make up for it._

_Cameron: Hey, Lo. Did you get my text?_

_Cameron: Are you mad at me for bailing on you? I am really sorry. You know that I would rather be with you if I could._

_Cameron: Lo? What's going on? You okay?_

_Cameron: Loren, you got me worried. Text me back please?_

_Loren: Sorry, I was in the shower. That's okay about tomorrow. I will let you know about breakfast. Talk to you later._

_Cameron: Oh, okay. Yeah, later._

"Oh, good. You didn't make plans for me. I am meeting with a partner for a class project on Monday morning, so I can't do breakfast with him." She muttered to herself before quickly texting him back.

"Aww, poor boyfriend." Eddie said in a sad voice. "He will be so bummed."

"He's not my boyfriend." Loren said.

"But you want him to be?" He asked her.

"He's the ex, actually."

"Oh, really? Are you thinking about getting back together with him?" She looked over at him, an eyebrow cocked. He just looked genuine curious about her life. She usually didn't open up to complete strangers, especially not celebrities like Eddie, but something about him made it easy to talk about it with him.

"I don't know. He is a great guy. He's really cute, too, which is a plus." Loren laughed quietly. "I thought I loved him while we dated."

"What happened?"

"We dated from freshman year until halfway through junior year. His parents got divorced, and he moved to San Francisco with his dad. We tried the long distance thing, but in high school, that usually doesn't work, so by mid-January we had broken up. We were too busy with our own lives and didn't take time to keep in touch with each other. On the first day of school this year, I was at my locker, putting away my new textbooks from my first class, and I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. There was Cam; apparently, he decided that he wanted to spend his senior year at West Valley Charter with all of his old friends, including me."

"And, I guess he wanted to pick up where you guys left off?"

"Yeah. He asked me to tutor him in calc, which is funny, because he always was better at math than me; it is just a ruse to hang out with me again." Loren shrugged. "Parts of me want to pick up where we left off, because I really thought I was in love with him and it would be so easy to be with him again, but the other part of me…" She broke off. She felt bad putting what she was thinking and feeling into words, guilty. This whole thing was starting to feel uncomfortable for her; it was like this morning. She couldn't help but feel like she was making a fool out of herself by opening up to him.

"The other part of you wonders why he didn't stay with his mom here so that he could be with you? Or, why it was so easy to not stay in touch with each other? Or, whether you ever really loved him at all?" She couldn't help but think it was weird that he seemed to know exactly what was going through her head.

Loren shook her head and closed her eyes. "Why am I even telling you this? This is something I should be talking about with Melissa, not you." Except, she hadn't talked about what she was feeling with Melissa, because when Mel had realized Cameron was back, she thought it was great and was pushing for the two of them to get back together.

"Why not? You are in love with me, so you may as tell me about the exes that broke you heart."

"Okay, I am out of here. Here's your jacket. Goodbye." She grabbed the guitar from him and began to pack it away.

"I am just teasing you." He laughed, laying a hand on her arm. "Don't run away yet."

"Don't you have some celebrity outing you need to go on? Or what about a date with your girlfriend?" Loren asked him as she closed the case.

"Nope." Eddie said, dragging out the 'p' sound. "I am all yours for awhile." Loren closed her laptop, enveloping them in darkness. She put it away in its case and slid her phone into her purse.

"Sorry, I have to meet someone."

"Who? Your boring lover boy, Cameron?"

"Why do you care?" Loren asked him as she stood up and grabbed her purse, guitar case, and laptop bag.

"You are fun, Loren Tate." He said, standing up with her. "I like teasing you."

"Oh, I am glad that I can be an amusing way to pass the time, but I think it is time for me to go." She pushed the unlock button on the car keys and put everything in the passenger seat. Eddie grabbed the jacket off the ground where she had left it. Loren shut the door to the car and was about to walk around it to the driver's side.

"I should tell you that I saved my number in your phone and saved yours in mine. I also sent myself the audio of you singing your song and then forwarded it to my manager, Jake. After Melissa tweeted me the link to the full song, I sent that to him, too. He thinks you've got potential. He wants to get together on Monday afternoon after you get out of school to talk about possibly representing you. I think I found who is going to open for me when I go on my tour next year."

"What?" Loren was speechless. "You can't be serious?"

"Totally. You are really talented. I loved your song _Mars_, and from what I heard about twenty minutes ago, you definitely have the chops to be a star."

"Um, I have work on Monday after school." Loren said after staring at him in shock for a few minutes.

"What about after work?"

"I get off at nine, and I have to get home and do homework after that."

"Tuesday?"

"Work until nine again."

"You are lying."

"No, I am being honest. I guess you didn't see my work schedule on my phone? You were too busy texting my ex-boyfriend." Eddie laughed.

"Fine, Wednesday?"

"I told my co-work Lily that I would cover for her from seven to close, but I could meet at the café I work at before that. Would five work? It would give me plenty of time to talk to you and Jake and to eat before I have to work."

"I will check with Jake, but I am good with that. Where do you work?"

"It is called Aroma."

"Oh, I love that place. Jake gets coffee from there all the time. I wonder if he ever got it from you." Eddie smiled.

"I don't know. Maybe? I should really get going." Loren smiled hesitantly at Eddie. "Um, thanks." She held a hand out to him.

"No problem." He smiled warmly at her, taking her hand and shaking it. His hand was warm against hers, and she felt her stomach tumble. He gave her butterflies. She broke the handshake and walked to the driver's side of her car.

"Bye, Eddie."

"Goodbye, Miss Loren Tate. I am so glad that I got to meet you today."

"Me, too." She climbed into the car and started before making a U-turn to go back down the mountain. As soon as she got a few blocks away, she pulled over to grab her phone and call Mel. She would have to wait to tell her mom the news when she got back from her date with Don, but Loren had to tell Mel immediately.

"Hey, Loren, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"So, you really did only exchange the jacket for the phone? You didn't stick around for some small chat at least? I mean, it is barely five after eight."

"Oh, we did talk. He showed up early. Listen, I need to see you right now. Can you meet me at my house?"

"Yeah, why? "

"I need to tell you something that I can't talk about in front of other people."

"Oh, my God! Did you have sex with him?"

"What? No!" Loren said quickly.

"Oh…I don't know if I am disappointed to hear that or relieved."

"Mel! Seriously, meet me at my house. Bye." She hung up the phone and raced home to share her news with Mel. Loren was having a hard time believing that seriously just happened. Right before she walked through the door to her house, she got a text from _My Number 1 Fan_; the text read: _We will see you Wednesday at 5. Sweet dreams, Loren Tate. You know as well as I do that they will be about me. _He finished the text with a winking emoticon. Loren raced into the house to find Melissa sitting on the couch, waiting.

"Okay, so tell me everything!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Somebody**

**Chapter 4**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: James Taylor's **_**Fire and Rain**_**; Taylor Swift's **_**Begin Again**_

**Author's Note: Glad that you guys love this story as much as I love it! Hope you like this new chapter!**

* * *

It had taken Loren nearly an hour and stealing her phone three times to finally get through to Melissa that she couldn't tweet or blog or _talk_ about the meeting with Jake and Eddie on Wednesday. She didn't know if anything was going to come from it, so she didn't want to start telling people about it only to have everything fall through. Plus, she figured that her mother should hear it from her and not a twitter update from Melissa.

After Melissa had found out that Loren would possibly be a professional singer and the opening act for Eddie Duran, she wanted to know what else happened between them on the mountain. Loren gave her an abbreviated story of what had happened; she left out specifically what they had talked about in terms of Cameron and her confusion over whether or not she wanted to get back together with him. She didn't want to hurt Melissa's feelings, because she hadn't opened up about what she was feeling towards Cam originally. Loren hated keeping things from her best friend, but sometimes she just wanted to keep some things to herself. The part that had her confused, though, was how easy it was for her to talk about it with Eddie. So far, she had talked about two extremely important, secret things in her life with him, and she couldn't even talk about those things with her best friend—what is wrong with her?

Her sudden interaction with Eddie set the gossip mills afire when she arrived at school on Monday. Loren was uncomfortable with the number of people staring at her and whispering about her, but it was even more upsetting when people she had never even spoken to before would come up to her and ask her the craziest things about Eddie and their relationship. Some of Melissa's favorites were: is it true that Eddie is your long lost half-brother who you have been secretly sleeping with for years and are now pregnant (eww); she and Eddie were friends when they were younger but they lost touch and have since reconciled and are now dating and having a baby; she and Eddie had a one night stand after one of his concerts and now she is pregnant and he is supporting her and the baby financially—as Loren continued to think about the gossip that Melissa particularly loved, she realized that they all involved Loren and Eddie having sex and getting pregnant.

Adrianna, of course, slammed Loren's song, saying that she was a no talent hack and that it was the worst piece of crap that she had ever heard. She finished off by saying that Eddie most likely felt bad for her, so he tweeted her lyrics and took pity on the stupid girl that had obviously gone out of her way to get her phone to him. Loren ignored everything that came out of her mouth, and for the most part, the rest of the school did, too.

Loren didn't see much of Cameron on Monday or Tuesday, because they didn't have any classes in common. Because of her packed afternoon on Wednesday, Loren had gone to her teachers and gotten the work ahead of time so that she could get as much done during lunch and study hall so that she was free to relax before the meeting with Jake and Eddie and then work. This left no free time to have any substantial interaction between her and her ex-boyfriend, which Loren found she was not feeling too upset about. She made a mental note to explore that in the evening when she wrote in her diary, but she didn't leave time for herself to dwell on it for long.

She was excited for the meeting with Jake and Eddie, but she was also nervous and hesitant. Melissa was encouraging her to live out her dream and become a signer, whereas Nora was saying that she shouldn't put all of her eggs in one basket and to remember her aspirations to attend Brown for political science and to ultimately go to law school. Loren had no intention of giving up her dreams of Brown or law school, but she couldn't help but imagine what life would be like as a singer. She was feeling very conflicted, and this confliction left her incapable of writing good songs. She was blocked creatively, and she was hoping the meeting would open things up for her.

On Wednesday, Loren felt like a nervous wreck; school seemed to drag on and on, so by the end of the day, she was practically a puddle of nerves. She was practically bouncing off the walls, and the second that the final school bell rang, she was dragging Melissa out the door so that she could head home and get ready for the meeting. She changed from her jeans and ballet flats to the blue dress that Melissa was pushing on her earlier in the week. Loren brushed her hair out, curling the bottoms so that it gave her hair a bit of flare and framed her face better. She touched up her makeup and added new gloss. Finally, she paired her blue dress with her black ankle boots and a black jean jacket. Loren took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. She thought that she looked confidant, cool, calm, and a nice bit of youth to remind Jake that she was still in school and would not be dropping out to pursue her career. She put her song book in her purse and made her way to the café.

As Loren walked up to the front of the café, she saw that Cameron was approaching from the opposite direction. She smiled warmly, waving at him. "Hi, Cam. I feel like we haven't seen each other in awhile." She pointed to the table outside of the café. She had about twenty minutes, so she had plenty of time to sit down with Cameron. "Want to sit?"

"I'd love to." He smiled as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Loren did the same, sitting across from him. "So, I saw your video."

"Oh, yeah? Did you like it?"

"You have a really great voice, and the lyrics were good. It just isn't my style, you know?" Loren felt her face fall.

"Oh, right. I mean, not everyone likes the same style, so…" She broke off, not sure where to go.

"It is pretty cool that Eddie tweeted your lyrics and got all those people to view your video, though."

"Yeah, well, I never intended for my song to get out, but he found my phone and broke into it. I was so embarrassed that he found my song." She shrugged her shoulders. "But, it led to a bunch of people telling me that they loved the song, and I have a meeting at five with Eddie and his manager."

"Oh? Really?" Cameron looked shocked, and Loren frowned. "What kind of meeting?"

"Well, Eddie said that he really liked my song, and the other night he overheard me playing another one. He said that he thought I had talent and that he wanted me to open for him on his next tour. I don't know when that would be or if it will really happen, but it is still cool to be considered, you know?" Her phone began playing the chorus of James Taylor's _Fire and Rain_. Loren ignored the grimace on Cameron's face; she remembered how much Cam disliked James Taylor and would always change the radio station or skipped to the next song on her iTunes whenever a James Taylor song came on. She glanced at her phone and saw that she had received tweets from Eddie. She rolled her eyes. "I swear he is like a toddler. Look what Eddie just tweeted." She held her phone out to Cam. "Ever since I told him that I hate it when people abbreviate words in text messages and tweets, he has insisted on sending said messages to me with abbreviations. His text message to me this morning was barely legible. I had to text him back to get confirmation on what one of his abbreviated phrases was."

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Super excited 4 a meeting w/ the awesome Loren Tate (Love_To_Love_You)! Keep UR fingers crossed; gotta convince her 2 open 4 me on my next tour!_

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Love_To_Love_You, when can I hear another 1 of UR songs? UR #number1fan is dying 4 something 2 sing along 2!_

"So, you guys are hanging out and texting?" Cam said after he saw the tweets from Eddie.

"Well, we only met up twice on Saturday—the first time was in the morning and I accidentally left behind my phone and stole his jacket, and the second time was to exchange his jacket for my phone on Saturday night. We have texted a few times, and he called me once to confirm the meeting with Jake today."

"Oh." Cameron was quiet for a few moments. "My mom misses you, and she wants you to come over for dinner on Friday. Would you be able to?"

"Um," Loren bit her lip, feeling put on the spot. "I think that should be fine. Can I check my schedule and get back to you?"

"That is what you said about breakfast on Monday, and you never did."

"Oh, I am sorry, Cam. That was actually Eddie. He didn't want you to worry, so he texted from my phone about rescheduling, and it totally slipped my mind when I got my phone back."

"Uh-huh." Cameron rolled his eyes. "Listen, I have to know Loren. Are we going to get back together or what?"

"What?" Loren licked her lips, feeling lost for words.

"I moved back here to spend our senior year together, because I love you. I have to know if you feel the same."

"Cam, I…it…um…it's been eight months, and I just…I don't know." She felt flustered, and she couldn't seem to get her thoughts together into one sentence.

"Great, Lo." Cam stood up. "I just have one thing to say to you. Eddie doesn't want you. He is not going to want you. He lives in a completely different world from you, and you guys aren't going to fall in love and live happily ever after. He doesn't go for girls like you; he goes for girls like Chloe Carter, his _girlfriend_. I really love you, and I am the kind of guy you are supposed to end up with. Keep that in mind, because you are going to get hurt if you let yourself think for a second that Eddie is going to drop his rock star life for you."

"Hey! You can't talk to me like that." Loren said; she was shocked, hurt, and very much angered by what Cam was saying to her.

"I am not trying to be a bad guy or to be mean, but I am stating a fact. Eddie Duran is not your boyfriend and will never be your boyfriend. It is good PR for him to tweet his fans and to say that he would love to have them as his opening acts, but it is nothing more than just good PR. This meeting is likely not going to go beyond anything more than here is a signed Eddie Duran CD and a t-shirt." Cameron paused, crossing his arms against his chest. "I thought you were smart, Loren. I thought you would be able to see past the celebrity and realize that this is all a joke, but I guess I was wrong. Keep that in mind, and I will be waiting when you finally realize it."

"Whatever, Cameron. First of all, I am not interested in dating Eddie. Second of all, even if this whole thing does turn out to be a PR scheme, I will not for a second come running to you to make me feel better. Third of all, I am sorry that you are hurt that I have moved on from our relationship that ended EIGHT months ago, but you have no right to say any of this. If you cared about me and wanted to express your concerns over this meeting with Eddie and his manager, then there are far better ways you could have stated them, but you chose this method. It has only pissed me off, and now I am having a hard time even wanting to be friends with you. If you would excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." Loren turned on her heel and marched into the café. She walked up to the counter and ordered a mug of green tea from her coworker, Summer.

"Loren, hey." She turned her head and saw Eddie seated in the back corner of the café. He had a tablet on the table in front of him. She returned his warm smile and small wave. Loren tried to pull her frustration over her argument with Cameron deep inside of herself so that she could remain professional for the meeting. She took her mug from Summer and made her way toward Eddie's table.

Eddie jumped up, racing around the table to her chair, which he pulled out for her and then helped her push in. It was so nice, and she couldn't keep the blush off her cheeks. Without her permission, Loren thought about how Cameron had never done something so nice for her. She felt herself frown, which she quickly masked by taking a sip of her tea before addressing Eddie. "Thanks so much. That was so kind of you."

"It's no problem." Eddie studied her as he sat back down and sipped the coffee in front of him. "You okay?"

"Oh, God. Is it that obvious? I was hoping that I was doing well with hiding it." She groaned, frowning.

"No, most people wouldn't be able to tell, but I feel like I can read you pretty well. I guess it is a fellow artist thing; you wear your heart on your sleeve, but it takes another artist to see it." He shrugged his shoulder. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." Loren shook her head and avoided eye contact with Eddie. She studied the way her hands wrapped around her mug, losing herself momentarily in the way the liquid swirled in her cup. "I want to forget about it for the moment and focus my attention on this meeting. I will let myself feel and work through it later."

"Okay. I get that." She felt Eddie's smile directed towards her. "It might lead to some great music. Speaking of music, when can you and I get together to go over your music?"

"I don't know. I am really unsure what I want right now. I agreed to this meeting, because I thought it would be a great opportunity to hear about the music business and to see if I have a possible career in it, but I don't know if that is what I want." She took a sip of her tea and set it down, looking at Eddie once again. "My dream since I was fifteen years old was to go to Brown and then go to law school."

"I get it." Eddie nodded. "You're scared, and that is okay. Being a professional singer is a lot of work, and there are going to be times when you feel like giving up. But, you are giving up before you even give it a chance, because you are afraid."

"I am not afraid!" Loren pouted. "Okay, yeah, maybe a little. It is a normal, healthy amount of fear: what if I get stage fright? What if I am a one-trick pony? What if no one buys my CD? What if, what if, what if? But, Brown has been my dream for so long, I don't think I am ready to give up on it."

"You don't have to give up Brown, you know. You can have both. I just hope that you decide to do the singing stuff first and then go to Brown, because I really want you as my opening act. Plus, I think you are really talented and have what it takes to make it in the business."

"Thanks." Loren said quietly. Eddie nodded, studying her for a moment. "You look like you need some cheering up, so how about a foosball match."

"Oh, that sounds like fun, especially because I am going to completely destroy you." Loren told him with the straightest face she could muster. Eddie just laughed, throwing his head back. When he composed himself, he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"I am sorry, Loren Tate, but I am the foosball champion. The only person who will be doing the destroying will be me."

"Sure, if that is what helps you sleep at night, then you can keep telling yourself that." She stood up, walking towards the foosball. She glanced back over her shoulder and gave him a sly smile. "Are you coming?"

Eddie narrowed his eyes at her, and Loren turned around once more and finding her place on the side of the foosball table so that she could face him. She crooked her finger at him. Eddie laughed again, standing up and making his way towards her. "You are going down, Tate."

Loren shook her head, trying to keep her face serious, but she was failing miserably. She also was feeling butterflies over the flirty behavior between her and Eddie. "Let's do this, Duran." They began playing, and she decided the best way to win was to lull him into a false sense of security and let him win the first game.

"I told you, Loren. I am the champion of this game." Eddie gloated when he won. She put her hands up, shaking her head.

"Looks like you are better at this game than me, Eddie." She pouted. Loren began playing a little better, letting him score some and getting some "lucky" shots. Soon enough, they were tied nine to nine. "There is one thing you don't know about me, Eddie. It is what is going to cost you this game." She smiled sweetly and innocently at him.

"Oh, and what is that?"

"That I am not left-handed." She laughed as she made a right-handed shot and wound up scoring, winning the game. "Ha!" She threw her hands up in the air and then spun around. "I think it is time that I stop letting you get shots and destroy you." She giggled and began to play hard. She won two games in a row. "Best out of three goes to Loren!" She cheered.

"Fine, let's play best out of five!" Eddie whined, making Loren giggle. She beat him a third time in a row, and Eddie turned and walked away from the foosball table. "I give up."

"I'm sorry," Loren said, following him back to the table. "You had no idea what you were getting into when you challenged me to a foosball competition. I expect you to apologize for believing that you could destroy me." Eddie mock-glared at her before he dropped to his knees before her; he clasped his hands together, in the same way that Loren had when she had 'thanked' Melissa for posting the full version of Loren's song.

"Loren Tate, you are the Goddess of Foos, and I am a lowly subject who wishes to apologize for ever believing that he could beat the Queen of the Table." Loren laughed as Eddie looked at her was such a heartfelt apologetic face. "It is my pleasure to be humbled by your foosball greatness. I can only hope that you will forgive me for my transgressions."

"You should do more movies. You just might be a better actor than singer." Eddie laughed as he stood up.

"I don't know if I should take that I as a compliment." He helped Loren into her seat again before sitting down opposite her and taking a sip of his coffee. "Yuck. I am not a fan of cold coffee."

"Really? I would rather drink an iced coffee than a regular coffee. I have to be really tired to drink hot coffee." She sipped her tea.

"Really? Iced coffee is gross." Eddie shook his head. "I am so embarrassed to be sitting at the same table as you."

"Oh, shut up." She glanced at the time on her phone. "It is almost 5:30; what's holding Jake up?"

"Shit, I don't know. Hold on." He checked his phone, wincing. "It looks like Jake texted and called me a few times. It must have been when you were pummeling me into the ground with your foosball skills. His texts say that he has to reschedule the meeting, because Traci—his wife—had to rush back home to Chicago. Apparently, her dad had a stroke, so he is going with her." He frowned, typing out a text, and Loren figured that he was texting Jake.

"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Tell him for me, please, and that I am thinking about them." Loren ran her hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I will. He will appreciate it." Eddie stared at Loren for a moment, giving her a soft smile.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Loren asked after a few moments, raising her hands to her cheeks.

"No, you look beautiful, as always." Loren bit the corner of her bottom lip, figuring that she was blushing as red as a tomato.

"Even when I am a dirty, sweaty, blubbering mess?" She joked, breaking eye contact with him. "I doubt it."

"Loren Tate, let me tell you something about guys: aside from the blubbering part, there is nothing sexier than a woman who is a total mess after a workout." Loren fought a grin with all her might. Eddie laughed, running a hand over his face in embarrassment. He obviously didn't mean to say that.

"Right, well. I am gonna go to the ladies' room. I will be back." She stood up and casually made her way to the restroom. When she got in there, she let out a small squeak. She was totally crushing on Eddie Duran, and he was flirting back. Suddenly, what Cam said came thundering back to her mind. This wasn't a date; he had a model girlfriend and wasn't interested in her. No matter what she was feeling right now, Cameron was right; Eddie wasn't going to drop everything for a high school girl when he had the beautiful Chloe Carter and the rock star life. She took a deep breath to compose herself before making her way out of the restroom.

"Loren," Summer called her over to the counter. Loren made her way to the blond, smiling. "You don't have to work at seven tonight. It is dead today, so Javier and I can manage alone tonight."

"Are you sure?" She didn't want to leave Summer alone to wait on customers if there was a rush.

"Yeah, it has been slow all day, so I doubt there will be much traffic later tonight."

"Okay, but call me if you need me."

"Will do." Summer smiled at Loren. "By the way, you two would make a really cute couple." Loren shook her head.

"There is no way that is gonna happen."

"I don't know; I saw the way that he looked at you today. He is smitten." Summer crossed her arms. "If I could have a rock star look at me like that, I would do just about anything to bag him. Short of…no, wait, I probably would kills his girlfriend." Loren laughed, rolling her eyes at Summer.

"I will see you later." She made her way back to her table. Eddie was finishing up a phone call, most likely to Jake.

"Right, well, I can pay for it, since I am the one pushing for it." He smiled in welcome to Loren. "No, Jake, it isn't that big of a deal." He rolled his eyes and mimed Jake's yapping with his hand. Loren smiled, holding back her laugh. "Seriously, it is fine. I will talk to her about it and let Steven and Kelly know the details. You worry about your wife. I will see you Monday." Eddie hung up the phone before turning his attention on Loren. "Sorry about that. Jake can be a bit of a motor mouth."

"How are Jake and Traci?" Loren asked him, concerned.

"There doing okay. They are at the airport, waiting for the plane. He isn't going to be back until Monday, so I have a pretty light couple of days coming up." Eddie shrugged. "According to Jake, it is the perfect opportunity for me to work on new songs for my next album."

"Ahh." Loren smiled. "You were probably hoping to slack off."

"It isn't that…I am just feeling pressured to get the new songs out, but I am feeling a little blocked."

"I have been feeling blocked the last few days, too. I guess the best thing to do is get out of your head for a bit and have some fun." Loren suggested. "I think that is what always recharges me after a dry spell. I just hang out with Mel and Adam and have some fun. Then, I find myself being able to write a bunch of new stuff." She cocked her head to the side. "Not all of it is good, but some of it is."

"I could use a little fun." Eddie tapped his finger on the screen of his cell phone. "Today was fun. Thanks."

"I had fun, too." Loren smiled. "I should be thanking you, though. You got my mind off of some things for awhile."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nope, I think I am going to be fine. Nothing a little ice cream, sad movies, my guitar, and my diary won't fix." Loren sipped her tea.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my call with Jake." Eddie said suddenly, making Loren laugh.

"Yes?

"So, I have been pushing for you to be my opening act, so Jake wants to get a demo together of about three songs of yours to play for the label. They have to sign off on it before we can draw up any contracts for you to open for me. When can we get you into a recording studio? Would tomorrow afternoon work? Friday?"

"Um, wow. This is really fast." Loren said, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Yeah, it goes zero to sixty in about three seconds," Eddie told her. "But, I wouldn't be pushing for this if I didn't think you could handle it. Besides, I want to help. You are something special, Loren Tate. I want to be involved in making you into somebody."

"Thanks," Loren said after a moment. She took a deep breath and blew it out. "So, three songs, huh?"

"Yeah, three songs. I know you have two good ones, so you just need to pull out another good song, and you are golden. Not this upcoming weekend, but the one after, I am filming my music video for _Something in the Air_; some of the guys from the label will be there, and I would love for you to check it out. We could introduce you to them, and by then, they should have the demo and listened to it. Once they see how awesome you are, they would be stupid not to work out a deal with you."

"Wow. Really? I would love to check out the video shoot. But, I don't think that _Superstar_ is something I would want to include on the demo."

"What? Why? It was great."

"You just like it, because it was about you."

"Finally! I got you to admit it!" Eddie joked. "No, it was well written. I really think it was good."

"But, it makes me seem like a little kid." She shook her head. "I am not eleven."

"No, you're not." Eddie laughed, running a hand through his messy hair. Loren closed her eyes for a moment to pull herself together before she locked eyes again with Eddie.

"I have another song." She said quietly. "It is something I wrote four years ago." The song she was thinking of was one of the first full songs that she wrote after she started visiting her secret spot. It was about a week after her birthday, and she finally realized just how broken her heart was. Most people would think the song was about a boy, but it was really about her dad leaving. "It is actually one of the first songs I wrote."

"I would love to hear it." Eddie said quietly. She felt him studying her as she stared at the table. He could tell that she was feeling sad.

"Yeah, so I just need to look over the rest of my songs and see if I have anything that is remotely good enough for a demo." Loren said after a moment, brightening up and giving Eddie a smile.

"I am sure that you have plenty of great songs."

"So, Friday would be better for me to go to the recording studio. It would give me a much more legitimate excuse for getting out of dinner with Cameron and his mother." Loren rolled her eyes. "I love his mom, but he and I are not the biggest fans of each other right now."

"Uh-oh." Eddie said. "I am sure it is his fault." Loren crinkled her brow.

"What makes you say that?"

"Ehh, it is always the guy's fault, right?" Loren laughed.

"Well, I don't think it was anyone's fault." She shrugged. "We just have a difference of opinion."

"Okay, don't want to talk about it. Got it." Eddie said. Loren shook her head. "You will tell me one day, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, because you are absolutely in love with me, and you can't seem to keep the important stuff buried for long around me." Loren balled up a napkin and threw it at him, hitting Eddie on the nose. He laughed, his head falling back again.

"I am glad that I can amuse you."

"You are the best for making me laugh. I feel like a kid again; no worries."

"You're welcome." She felt her stomach growl quietly. "Well, I am famished. I am going to get something to eat. You hungry?"

"Only if I am buying." Eddie stood up with her, following her to the counter.

"Hey, Summer. Can I get a coffee milkshake and a pastrami on rye, please? With lettuce, tomato, avocado, and American cheese." Loren asked when Summer came to take their order.

"Is that all, Loren? Usually you can put away twice that."

"Seriously?" Eddie asked her. "You weigh like five ounces. How are you not huge?"

"I run."

"Right. Can I get a turkey burger with bacon, extra Swiss cheese, LTO, and some mayo? Oh, and an order of fries. And a chocolate shake."

"Oh, that sounds good." Loren said, rubbing her flat stomach. "Can I get an order of fries, too?" Eddie laughed handing over his card to Summer when she rung them up. "Thanks for dinner." Loren told him as they made their way back to the table.

"No problem." Eddie glanced at the time on his phone. "Don't you have work soon?"

"Nope, Summer told me I have the night off. Only three of the tables are occupied right now."

"Cool. What are you going to do with all this free time?"

"Well, I have to get three songs ready by Friday, so I will probably just work on some music."

"I guess I should do that, too. Jake would have a fit if I don't have something for him and the label soon." They sat in silence for a bit, and after a few moments, Summer brought over the tray of their food. "This looks great."

"Don't tell Summer, but I make better milkshakes." Loren told him, as she dug into her sandwich. She moaned over how good it tasted. "This tastes like heaven," she muttered after she swallowed a huge bite. Eddie laughed, shaking his head at her.

"Seriously, you are the first girl who I have seen pig out on food like that."

"I like to eat." She shrugged. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Eddie started talking about his dad. "My mom was so in love with your dad when she was growing up." Loren told him seriously. "She had the hugest crush on him. When I was about ten, my mom told me about a dream she had where your parents were singing on the stage and in the middle of the song, your dad broke off and told your Mom that he couldn't be with her anymore because he was in love with the girl in the front row, my mom." Loren started laughing. "She woke up crying from the dream, and I asked her what was wrong. She was sobbing when she told me she was an awful person because she broke up MK."

"That is just beautiful." Eddie laughed. "I bet my dad would get a kick out of that."

"Oh, you can't tell him! She would kill me if she ever found out you told your father that!" Loren stuck her pinky finger out towards him. "Pinky swear to me that you will never tell your dad!"

"You can't be serious." Eddie said, staring at Loren's extended finger.

"Dead serious." She pushed her hand out further. "Come on. Pinky swear."

"You sure you're not eleven?" He laughed as he wrapped his pinky around hers. "I pinky swear."

"Good." Loren grinned. "And, no, I am not eleven. I am very much a young woman." She paused. "A young woman who still loves watching Disney movies in her pajamas on Saturday mornings."

"Well, I think everyone loves to do that, no matter how old they are." They ate for a few minutes, and Loren kept glancing up to see the amazed look on Eddie's face as she put away more food than him.

"You are going to give me a complex." Loren told him after she sipped her milkshake. "I will never be able to eat in public again."

"No, it is cute." She rolled her eyes.

"I doubt it."

"I'm serious. It is refreshing to see a girl who loves to eat. My mom would have loved you. She loves feeding people." Loren smiled softly.

"You must miss her." She looked down at the remaining fries on her plate. "I am sorry about the other day. I unloaded on you, and I wasn't sympathetic to your situation."

"Yeah, I do miss her. She was an amazing person, and I loved her so much." Eddie took a sip of his milkshake. "But, after I met you, it helped me to stop feeling sorry for myself." He paused. "I won't get to see my mom ever again, but she didn't choose to leave. I was lucky, and as awful as it is that she is gone, I know that she loved me." Loren felt the tear slip down her cheek. "Your…I can't even call him your dad, because he isn't. That guy…he was a coward. He made a choice, and it was the stupidest thing he ever could have done, because from what I can tell, you are a really awesome person." She took a shuttering breath and looked up at him, wiping at the tear.

"Trent." She said quietly. "His name was Trent. Trent McCall."

"Trent." Eddie repeated. He reached a hand out and laid it over Loren's. "He is an idiot."

"Yeah," she whispered. They were quiet for a moment before Eddie gently squeezed her hand and pulled his back.

"So, today was great, but I guess I better let you get home to work on your music and homework."

"The music part sounds like fun, but the homework stuff is definitely not being looked forward to. I have a paper due next week on _The Grapes of Wrath_. It is a good book, but a tad bit dry." They stood up and walked to the door. Eddie pushed past her so that he could open it for her. Loren thanked him with a smile.

They walked in the direction of where Loren parked her mom's car. Dr. Don had picked her up that morning, so she was able to use her mom's. "Thank you for today, Eddie. You really helped me forget about some crappy stuff." She paused. Part of her wanted to tell him about her fight with Cameron, but the rest of her didn't want to admit to him her insecurities about their sudden friendship. If it was even a friendship. Eddie must have sensed her apprehension, because he started talking about his childhood again.

"So, can I tell you my favorite childhood memory?" She nodded her head. "My parents have this bungalow on the beach, and I remember how every summer when they weren't touring, we would spend a few weeks there, just enjoying the sun and the surf. Well, one year, my parents decided that we were going to go there for Christmas, just the three of us." Eddie ran his fingers through his hair. "The only movies we had there were the ones that they loved watching during the summer, so instead of watching the traditional _Miracle on 34__th__ Street_ and stuff like that, we watched a bunch of old eighties movies, like _Splash_ and _The Breakfast Club_. So, it became a tradition after that. We would go to the bungalow and watch old eighties movies and eat popcorn. We didn't even do the whole Christmas tree thing, just a couple of presents and spend the day on the couch watching movies."

"That sounds wonderful." Loren smiled, laying a hand on Eddie's upper arm.

"These last two years have been hard, though." Eddie frowned. "My dad isn't up for going to the bungalow. We spent the night at my apartment drinking the first Christmas after she died. It is a good thing we were in my place, because my dad would have gotten arrested for giving me alcohol, but what can you do." He laughed, but it was humorless. "Last year, Chloe, my dad, and I went to St. Bart's for Christmas. My dad got drunk and passed out on the couch, and Chloe and I went to a club and a fancy dinner in the hotel." He shrugged his shoulders. "I just wish that I could be a kid again and go to the bungalow to watch old school eighties movies on the couch."

"Well, my mom and I do the whole traditional Christmas thing. We decorate the house with a ton of Christmas decorations and set up my laptop with a picture of a burning fire and sit on the couch listening to Christmas music while sipping hot chocolate." She smiled. "Sometimes we go to visit her family, but most times it is just the two of us." Loren pulled her keys out of her purse and walked to door to the driver's side of the car. "You could start the tradition again, you know? Bring Chloe to the beach bungalow, maybe, and watch old movies. Or, start your own tradition." She unlocked the car door and pulled it open. "Thanks, Eddie. Today was great. Talk to you later?" Eddie stepped forward, pulling Loren into a big hug.

"I should be thanking you, Loren, because I really needed today, a day to blow off steam and to have some fun." He released her, stepping back and smiling at her. "I will text you later." With that, he walked off in the direction of his car. When he got to it, he gave her a wave. Loren smiled and waved back, climbing into her car and shutting the door. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm down her heart which was surely going to burst out of her chest.

"Loren Elizabeth Tate, you need to get your head together. You cannot fall for him." She whispered as she started her car.

Later, when she was sitting by her desk, writing in her diary, she couldn't help the song that poured out of her. It was one of those songs that she didn't think she was going to share with anyone, least of all Eddie. It was something, she decided, that she was going to only let herself feel for a few minutes. When those few minutes were up, Loren was going to pack those feelings away in her diary with the lyrics of that song. She wasn't going to allow herself to fall for him. When she was done writing, she let herself hum the words of the song.

_Took a deep breath in the mirror_  
_He didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do_  
_Turn the lock and put my headphones on_  
_He always said he didn't get this song, but I do_  
_I do_

_Walked in expecting you'd be late_  
_But, you got here early and you stand and wait_  
_I walk to you_  
_You pull my chair out and help me in_  
_And you don't know how nice that is, but I do_

_And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
_I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did_  
_I've been spending the last 8 months thinking,_  
_All love ever does is break and burn and end._  
_But, on a Wednesday, in a café, I watched it begin again_

_You say you never met one girl_  
_Who had as many James Taylor records as you,_  
_But I do_  
_We tell stories and you don't know why_  
_I'm coming off a little shy but I do_  
_But you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
_I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did_  
_I've been spending the last 8 months thinking,_  
_All love ever does is break and burn and end_  
_But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again_

_And we walk down the block to my car_  
_And I almost brought him up_  
_But you start to talk about the movies that your family watches_

_Every single Christmas_  
_And I will talk about that for the first time_  
_What's past is past_

_'Cause you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
_I think it's strange that you think I'm funny cause he never did_  
_I've been spending the last 8 months thinking,_  
_All love ever does is break and burn and end_  
_But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again_

_But on a Wednesday, in a café_

_I watched it begin again_


	5. Chapter 5

**Somebody**

**Chapter 5**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Breathe**_** by Taylor Swift; **_**Who Says **_**by Selena Gomez and the Scene**

**Author's Note: It is officially over between Loren and Cameron after this chapter. I had to tweak the end of the song, because Loren doesn't have anyone singing backup for her. For those of you wondering, Eddie and Chloe are still very much together. They will be together for awhile longer. I am also going to be writing in an original love interest for Loren. I liked Cam in the show, but as Melissa said, the conversation between him and Loren was almost painful, which is why I had him as the ex-boyfriend and not a future boyfriend. Loren and Eddie will get together, but it is going to be some time before that happens, so you have to be patient. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Loren rolled over, burying her face deeper into her pillow. Her phone began buzzing on the end table next to her where it was plugged into charger. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" She said still half asleep, not even taking the time to see who was calling.

"Loren, hi." She frowned, running a hand through her hair.

"Cam?" She glanced at the clock on the table, seeing that it read 2:20 AM, and yawned loudly. "Why are you calling me at two in the morning?"

"I am sorry to wake you," Cam said. Loren closed her eyes as she lay back against her pillows once again. "I just wanted to apologize to you about earlier. I couldn't sleep without saying that to you."

"Oh, okay." She said quietly, opening her eyes and staring at her ceiling. "You really hurt my feelings." She whispered. "I didn't and still don't have any intentions of pursuing a relationship with Eddie. He is being really nice to me and trying to help me establish a music career. There is nothing more beyond that." She paused. "And, even though I didn't think that there would ever be anything between him and I, it hurt to hear you say that he would never like me, because it implied that I wasn't good enough."

"Of course you are good enough, Lo!" Cameron told her, and his tone sounded insistent. "I was hurt, and I was lashing out." He groaned into the phone. "I was a jerk, and if I am being honest, I was jealous. I still love you, and I was so hopeful that you and I were going to get back together. When you told me that you had moved on, it was easier to lash out than to just let myself feel sad."

"I understand why you did it, but it doesn't change how it made me feel." Loren said after a few moments. "I can't turn off the hurt and the anger, any more than you can."

"I know." They were quiet for a few minutes. "Loren, be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt. Eddie is a lot older than you; I know that four years doesn't seem like a lot, but it is. And, he has a girlfriend that he is crazy about. Plus, he is in an entirely different world than you or I am. We are kids; we still have a lot of growing up to do, no matter how mature you feel."

"I know that, Cameron." Loren said, rolling onto her side to stare at the poster of Eddie on her wall.

"Okay, I just don't want you to get hurt." She felt her face slip into a frown as she heard the sadness and hurt in his voice. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I know it was stupid, but I thought that I would come back this year, and we could go back to how it was before, because it was so easy to be with you. You were the only person I could fully be myself around, and you were the same way with me. I thought we were so alike and that we knew everything about each other, so all those months apart wouldn't matter. But, that first day of school when I saw you at your locker with Mel and you were laughing, I realized that it wasn't going to be that easy. It wasn't that you looked the different or even acted different, but I felt different towards you. I think I will always love you, Lo, but I think it took until today to admit to myself that I am not in love with you anymore. And, you aren't in love with me anymore."

"No," she whispered, closing her eyes. Even though she already knew this, it still felt like her heart was shattering into a million pieces. So much of her adolescence was spent with this boy, and now that this chapter was officially closing in her life, she felt like she was losing one of her best friends in the whole world. The tears burned in her eyes, and she felt like she had trouble breathing for a few moments. She sucked in a deep breath. "I am so sorry, Cam. It would be so much easier if I was still in love with you."

"Yeah, I know." She let out a shuttering breath, and the hot tears spilled down her cheeks. "But, we can still be friends, right?" He asked her. She couldn't hold it back anymore and let out a small sob.

"Yes! I would love that."

"Don't cry, please."

"This is the most ridiculous reaction ever." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "I think it is residual sadness from when we first broke up. I think I never really let myself feel sad about it, because I felt like I had to be understanding about your move. It has been locked up inside of me for so long and now this conversation has set it loose."

"That is the worst decision I ever made. I thought that by living with my dad, we would grow closer, but it only seemed to push us away from each other. And, it made me lose you, which I regret so much. If I hadn't of left, maybe we would have broken up because we grew up or maybe we would still be together now, growing up together—no matter what would have happened between us, I know that I wouldn't have regretted it. I don't regret it now, but I do regret not staying and seeing where we would have ended up."

"Yeah," she wiped at the tears.

"I am sorry, Lo."

"I am sorry, too, Cam."

"I am gonna go now. I will talk to you tomorrow at school."

"Mm-hmm. Bye." She hung up the phone, setting it on her end table. She buried her face into her pillow and began to ball, trying to drown out her loud sobs so that she didn't wake her mom. After a few minutes, she was able to calm down enough to stop her tears. She stood up and made her way to her desk. She opened her diary and wrote about her conversation and the official end of her relationship with Cameron. She felt overcome with inspiration to write him a song. She wrote and wrote, hearing the music in her head, imagining how it would sound on the guitar.

Loren heard the door creak open, and she glanced up to see her mom leaning in her doorway. "Honey…" Nora saw the tracks of the tears on Loren face, and she crossed to where Loren was sitting. "You okay?"

"I will. Can you record something for me?" She asked her mom. Nora nodded. She left the room and returned with her tablet. Loren was already on her bed, guitar in hand. The only light on in the room was the lamp on her bedside table. She strummed the guitar for a moment, finding the key that she thought sounded best with the lyrics. "Alright, I am ready." Nora hit record, and Loren began to play the guitar and sing the song she just wrote.

"_I see your face in my mind as I drive away  
'Cause none of us thought it was gonna end that way  
People are people,  
And, sometimes we change our minds  
But, it's killing me to see you go after all this time_

_"Mmm mmm mmm_  
_Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm_  
_Mmm mmm mmm_  
_Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm_

_"Music starts playin' like the end of a sad movie_  
_It's the kinda ending you don't really wanna see_  
_'Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down_  
_Now I don't know what to be without you around_

_"And, we know it's never simple_  
_Never easy_  
_Never a clean break_  
_No one here to save me_  
_You're the only thing I know_  
_Like the back of my hand_  
_And, I can't_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to_

_"Never wanted this_  
_Never wanna see you hurt_  
_Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve_  
_But, people are people_  
_And, sometimes it doesn't work out_  
_Nothing we say is gonna save us from the fall out_

_"And, we know it's never simple_  
_Never easy_  
_Never a clean break_  
_No one here to save me_  
_You're the only thing I know_  
_Like the back of my hand_  
_And, I can't_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to_

_"It's two a.m_  
_Feelin' like I just lost a friend_  
_Hope you know it's not easy_  
_Easy for me_  
_It's two a.m_  
_Feelin' like I just lost a friend_  
_Hope you know this ain't easy_  
_Easy for me_

_"And we know it's never simple_  
_Never easy_  
_Never a clean break_  
_No one here to save me_

_"Ohhh_

_"I can't_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But, I have to_  
_Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to_

_"Breathe_  
_Without you_  
_But I have to, ooh_

_"Sorry, ooh_  
_Sorry, ooh, yeah_  
_Sorry, ooohhh." _

Loren's voice shook with tears, and when she finished the song, she set the guitar aside and hugged a pillow to her chest. Her mom carefully turned off the recording and smiled at her. "That was beautiful, Loren. Cameron is going to love it when he hears it." She handed Loren the tablet. "Do you want me to get you some tea?"

"No, I will be fine. I just need to get some sleep."

"Okay, honey. I am here if you need me." Loren nodded, smiling at her mom. Nora stood up and walked out of her room, leaving her alone. She watched the recording, and she sighed as she watched how sad she looked in the video. A few days ago, she was wishing that Cameron wasn't trying to be with her, and now she would do anything for it to be as simple as it was when they were together. She hoped that he liked her song.

Loren signed into twitter and looked at the tweets between her and Eddie from earlier in the evening when she had gotten home from the café.

_Love_To_Love_You: I am the reign queen of foosball. _theREAL_EddieDuran ate my dust this afternoon. #iamnumber1_

__theREAL_EddieDuran: I accept defeat to the awesome Love_To_Love_You. She is so much better than I am at foosball. Looking forward to her new songs!_

_Love_To_Love_You: Wrote something new tonight. Don't know if I will ever share it, though._

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Can I hear it? Love_To_Love_You_

_Love_To_Love_You: When I have something for you, I will let you hear it, but this one is for my eyes/ears only. Sorry, _theREAL_EddieDuran_

__theREAL_EddieDuran: No problem, Love_To_Love_You; I totally get it #beentheredonethat #artistthing_

Loren debated whether or not she should show the video to Cam first or to just post it. After a few moments, she decided that she would just post it, because she wanted everyone to know how much she cared about Cam and how hard it was to say goodbye to him. Exactly seven minutes later, Melissa called her.

"I was going to say you are insane for waking me up at nearly three in the morning, but when I watched your video, it was well worth it. I posted it to my blog, so do with it what you want." Loren thanked her. "You want to talk about it?"

"Can we meet for breakfast? I am just so tired; I just wanted to get this out while it was all so fresh, and I will tell you everything that happened between Cam and I and the meeting at _Aroma_ tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Love you, Lo."

"Love you, too, Mel. See you in a few hours."

"Yup." Melissa hung up the phone, and Loren quickly went to Melissa's blog and checked out her newest post.

_**The Hardest Thing to Do is Say Goodbye**_

_I was awakened at 2:45 in the morning today to this video from my best friend in the world. It was well worth the disturbance, because it is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, saddest songs I have ever heard. I hope that you all like it. Love you, Lo. Without further ado, here's Lo's new song, _Breathe_._

Loren closed her eyes and took a deep breath before coping the link to the Mel's blog. She went back to her twitter and prepared a new tweet.

_Love_To_Love_You: A late night phone call brought some of the best inspiration that one can get. Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things you can do. / 3_

_Love_To_Love_You: CameronForrester0722, this one is for you. _

She added the link to her second tweet and hesitated for a moment before hitting submit. A few minutes later, she saw that Cameron had retweeted her song and responded to her.

_CameronForrester0722: Thank you for the best 2.5 years of my life, Love_To_Love_You _

Loren smiled at his tweet, wiping at the lone tear that slipped down her cheek. She set the tablet aside, laying back down, staring up at the ceiling. Her phone buzzed a few moments later, and she grabbed it off of her end table. She saw that Eddie had texted her.

_Eddie: That was one of the most amazing songs that I have ever heard. I hope that this will be one of the songs that you include on your demo for the label, because once they hear this song, they will completely fall in love with your sound like I have. You are one of the most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I am here if you want to talk. _

She took a moment before texting him back. She had taken her conversation from earlier today with Cameron to heart; Eddie is in such a different world from her, and it was so kind of him to help her with her career, but she wasn't going to have any more expectations than that. Her sanity and heart depended on it.

_Loren: Thanks, Eddie. You have no idea how good it makes me feel to hear you say that my music is good. I never had the confidence to share it with anyone, and now that I have, I feel like I can't stop. I definitely want to use Breathe in the demo, because I want this song on my album if I ever make one. Cam has been such a big part of my life, and after we talked this morning, it was so hard to finally say goodbye. I want everyone to know how amazing he is and how great we were together. I really appreciate you lending your ear (and your shoulders, haha) for me over the last few days. I think I will be okay, but I will keep you in mind the next time I am feeling upset about something._

Loren thought that her text was professional and appreciative. She was trying her hardest to stop herself from growing anymore attached to Eddie; she was going to keep it at the mentor-mentee level, nothing more. She didn't want to get hurt.

_Eddie: I am glad to help you in ANY way, Loren. You will have an album, and I will definitely buy it. I am sure it isn't easy for Cameron to say goodbye to you either. You are one of a kind, Loren Tate. Have a good Thursday_.

Loren's phone buzzed again, and this time it was an alert from twitter. She saw that Eddie had retweeted her new song, as well as posted a new tweet.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Once again, I am blown away by the lovely Love_To_Love_You; Her new song is outstanding. #amazing #beautiful #number1fan_

She set aside her phone, feeling tired now. It was just after three in the morning, and she had to be up in another three hours to get ready for school. She figured that she was probably going to have a rough day. People were going to talk about the breakup, even though it happened nearly a year ago officially. She figured that she was going to get a nasty comment or two from Adrianna, and she was expecting a lot of people to tweet her about how awesome her song is or how much they don't like it or whatever. She settled back into her pillows, willing the sleep to come. Unfortunately, she it didn't, so she forced herself to read a chapter from _The Grapes of Wrath_, since that would surely put her to sleep within a few minutes. Sure enough, after about a chapter and a half, Loren felt tired enough to settle down and fall asleep.

* * *

Her alarm came too early, and it took her an extra ten minutes to get out of bed. She took a long shower, enjoying the warm water pelting her skin and waking her up. She climbed out of the shower when she was done, wrapping a fluffy white towel around herself. She ran a comb through her hair and walked back into her room. She opened her drawers and pulled out a light blue bra with a little pink bow between the cups. She paired it with a matching pair of boy short panties that had two strip of pink lace and a tiny pink bow that lined the front of her panties just below her hip bones. She pulled them on quickly and went back to her drawers to pull out an outfit for the day. She decided to settle on a pair of jeans and a light blue v-neck t-shirt. Her computer chirped from her desk, indicating someone was skyping her. She threw the clothes over her arm and walked over to her computer, figuring it was Melissa. She accepted the skype call without even looking at the call her.

"Hey, Mel. I will be ready in about thirty for breakfast."

"Holy shit, I am not Mel!" Loren squeaked when she heard Eddie's voice coming through her computer screen. She quickly ran out of the camera's frame, burying her face in her clothes.

"Oh, my God! I am so embarrassed." Loren moaned loudly. All she heard was a wheezing laugh coming from her computer. "Shut up! I wasn't expecting you to be skyping me! I thought it was Mel." She pulled on her jeans and the t-shirt as quickly as she could before making her way over to her desk to grab her hair brush. She usually blew her hair dry with her shirt off because she would get hot and the wetness from her hair would always stain her shirt.

"I am so, so sorry! I figured you would up and getting ready for school, but I didn't expect to see that much of you."

"Shut up!" Loren moaned, hiding her face in her hands again. "Seriously, this is so embarrassing for me!"

"Loren, calm down. I didn't see much…" Eddie said. She dropped her hands to look at the computer. "Cute bows." Loren moaned again, pulling out the chair to her desk and collapsing in it.

"I hate you so much right now. Stop! What on Earth do you want?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing this morning." Eddie said, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I am fine. A little sleepy, but fine. Thanks for asking."

"Yeah, well, I let you get back to…yeah, I really gotta go." He said, laughing in embarrassment. "The longer I talk to you, the longer the sight of you in your…yeah, well, it is in my head…and your shirt is…from your hair…yeah, bye."

"Oh, my God!" Loren wailed again. "Goodbye!" She quickly shut her computer and buried her face in her hands for the third time. Her shirt was completely soaked through on the front from the hair that had been draped over her shoulder, outlining her right breast completely. So, powder blue wasn't the best choice for today, Loren decided. She pulled the shirt off again, laying it on her desk to dry before making her way back to her dresser to find a new shirt.

Loren got ready as quickly as she could and made her way out of her room to wait by the door for Mel, since it was her turn driving that day. The second she saw Mel drive up, she ran out the door with barely a goodbye to her mother.

"Hey, Lo. You must be hungry, huh?" Melissa said when Loren practically dove into the car.

"Oh, my God!" She said loudly, burying her face in her hands, yet again. "Eddie skyped me this morning…" Loren began, her words muffled by her hands.

"What?" Melissa asked as she backed out of Loren's driveway. Clearly, Melissa thought that Loren was just flustered and excited that Eddie had skyped her, but Loren had to set the record straight.

"Eddie skyped me this morning, and I thought it was you! I accepted his call without even looking at who was ringing me." Loren said slowly, her cheeks turning bright red.

"So? I mean, it is cute that he was skyping you, but I fail to see the emergency."

"I was in my bra and underwear." Loren said. Melissa stopped dead so that the car jerked.

"WHAT?!"

"I thought it was you!" Loren wailed. "Then, I quickly pulled on clothes, but my hair was wet, and my shirt got wet. He said that he kept thinking about what he saw and had to go."

"Haha! He probably had to go take a cold shower!"

"Mel!"

"What? I have seen you in a bikini, Lo, as well as your undergarments. You look good. Really good. Like, you could rival Eddie's model girlfriend good." Loren glared at Mel. "What? You have a nice ass. Well, you have a lot of nice things, but your butt is your best feature. Eddie would probably agree. Should we call him?"

"Oh, my God!" Loren squealed again. She ran a hand through her hair, trying her best to calm down. "I am so embarrassed, Mel!"

"Probably not anymore embarrassed than he is! I mean, he had to rush off of a video chat with you, because he kept picturing you almost naked."

"Mel, I am trying to be serious right now."

"So am I!" Melissa laughed. "Seriously, calm down." Loren's phone buzzed with an incoming text.

"It's Eddie." She said breathlessly. Her hands were shaken as she opened the message. "He says, 'so sorry about this morning, Loren.'" Loren paused for a moment before her jaw dropped open. "That jerk!"

"What?"

"I quote, 'I know you are in love with me, Loren, but I didn't realize that you were going to throw yourself at me by showing me your goods.'" Melissa laughed, throwing her head back. "Not funny!"

"It is a little funny."

"Cocky bastard." Loren muttered, her fingers flying over her keyboard to send him that.

"Ha! Pun intended?" Melissa asked. A moment later, Eddie responded.

_Eddie: I could take that phrase in so many dirty directions, you have no idea, Loren Tate. Apparently, I have a rather dirty mind today. I wonder whose fault that is._

_Loren: You have no idea how embarrassed I am! Please stop teasing! I am just trying to forget that happened!_

_Eddie: That's funny, because I can't._

_Loren: Eddie! You can't keep saying stuff like that._

_Eddie: Why not? You are a beautiful girl, and I am a straight guy. It is only natural that my mind keeps going there._

_Loren: Oh? What do you think Chloe would have to say about that?_

Her phone was silent for a few moments, and Loren took the time to try and compose herself once again. It wasn't fair that Eddie kept sending her messages like that. Her phone finally buzzed again, and she opened the message. Her heart practically exploded out of her chest when she read his text.

_Eddie: Chloe Who? I am just kidding. Chloe is in New York for work, so I am all on my own. Unfortunately, that means that my mind wanders easily._

That text could mean a lot of things. A wandering mind isn't good in any relationship, because it means the person might cheat. Loren certainly didn't want to be the one to cause the breakup of one of Hollywood's power couples. At the same time, she could seem to catch her breath, because Eddie was thinking of her in a way that was decidedly not platonic. Well, sexually isn't the same as romantically, but it is a step in the right direction.

"Penny for your thoughts, Lo?"

"Oh, this might cost a bit more than a penny."

"What's he saying?"

"The most inappropriate things ever."

"Really?"

"Yeah, things that are making me nervous." She shook her head.

_Loren: Maybe you should think about your girlfriend instead. And, before you say it: no, not us together._

_Eddie: HA! You know me so well. Have a good day at school, Loren Tate._

_Loren: Eddie Duran, please stop being a piggish male._

_Eddie: Can't help it. ; ) _

Her phone then buzzed with an incoming tweet from Eddie. She bit her lip as she opened the message, gasping at what she saw.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: I am the luckiest man in the world this morning. Saw a really pretty scene this morning ; D_

Loren shut off her phone then. She had enough, and needed to take the rest of the drive to calm down. When she and Melissa had finally arrived at school, Melissa gave Loren a knowing look when they walked toward the building. "Eddie is a dirty bird; just saw his tweet."

"Yeah, me, too." Loren sighed.

"He likes you." Melissa winked. "I can see this flirtatiousness coming to a head and boom! A relationship comes exploding out."

"It sounds like you are describing an exploding zit or something." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Eww. I was actually thinking more like a volcano; a scorching hot, exploding volcano." Melissa grinned evilly. "Or an exploding—" She squeaked when Loren slammed her hand over Mel's mouth.

"I knew where you were going with that. Mel, I am trying so hard not to crush on the guy Eddie, especially because I always had a crush on the rock star Eddie. I need to keep reminding myself that he has a girlfriend and nothing is going to come from this other than possibly my music career."

"But, Lo…"

"No!" Loren shook her head. "I don't want to even think for a second of any romantic possibilities! Seriously, Melissa; I can't get hurt."

"Okay," Mel said in a low voice. "I get it, and I will stop saying this kind of stuff to get your hopes up. The last thing I am going to say about this whole thing is that it seems like he genuinely likes you. He is really flirty and fun with you, and if he were just a regular guy that you met at a coffee shop or the movie theatre, I would definitely think that there is potential here. But, you are right; he is a rock star, and he is dating a supermodel. I don't want to see you get hurt if he decides that flirty fun is all well and good when his supermodel girlfriend is off on a job and he is looking for a piece of ass."

"I don't think he is doing that." Loren sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I honestly think he doesn't realize what he is doing, because he isn't thinking of himself as Eddie, the rock star that every girl in America and maybe the world is in love with. He is just acting like a twenty-one year old guy."

"Well, I might just have to PM him on twitter and tell him to knock it off."

"No! Don't!" Loren laid her hand on Mel's arm. "I don't want him to know that I have this mini-crush on him!"

"Fine, but if he keeps hurting your feelings, then I might have to punch the jerk."

"Sounds good to me." Loren laughed.

That day was weird for Loren. Everyone was whispering about her, as usual since she had met Eddie, but now the topic was on her breakup song with Cameron. A lot of girls were telling her that they were on Cam's "side," and some of the guys asked if she was going to be like the next Taylor Swift and write a song about all of her ex-boyfriends. Other people said does her breakup and breakup song mean that she and Eddie were dating. Loren did her best to ignore them, but her tolerance was shot by the end of the day. It was completely nonexistent by the time that Adrianna decided to harass her.

"What is wrong with you? Is Cameron not cute enough for you or something?" Adrianna asked when Loren was at her locker to pack up the books she needed for homework that night.

"Excuse me?" She turned to see the blond girl and her army of followers standing a few feet away.

"Do you honestly think that Eddie Duran is going to break up with his model girlfriend to date a nobody like you with poop brown hair and no talent?" Loren rolled her eyes and shook her head. She turned back to her locker, trying to ignore Adrianna. "Seriously, I have no idea what Cameron even sees in you. You aren't even pretty."

"You know what, Adrianna?" Loren said as she slammed her locker shut. "Shut up! You have no idea what is going on in my life, especially not what is happening in my love life. Get over yourself. I am not trying to date Eddie. Cameron and I broke up last year, and we had a great conversation last night that is none of your business. Maybe you should worry about yourself and your relationship with your own boyfriend." She turned her back on Adrianna and began to make her way out of the building to wait for Melissa by their tree. She stopped short, turning to face Adrianna once again. "By the way, if Eddie thinks that I have no talent, then why is he asking me to go to the recording studio on Friday so that I can make a demo for his record label? Oh, and why is he asking me to go to the filming of his music video next weekend? And, maybe you can tell me why he keeps asking me to be his opening act for his tour next year?" With that, Loren walked out the door, feeling pretty proud of herself.

When she and Melissa got home to Loren's house, they sat down on the couch to begin their homework. Loren couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Adrianna and how sick she was of the blond putting her down. Ever since she had met Eddie, she seemed to have tapped into a well of creativity; her body came alive as the words to a new song started flowing through her mind. She could hear the music that went with it. She tore a blank piece of paper out of her notebook and began scribbling the words down. It was the first time that she had ever written an entire song in only a few moments. When she was done writing, she couldn't help but stare at the page in amazement. It was like an over-flowing fountain. She had so much to say, and now that she had started, she didn't think it was ever going to stop.

"Mel," her best friend looked up from her math textbook, a look of relief on her face; math had never been Melissa's strong point. "I just wrote a new song. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes!"

"I want to sing it through a few times, and then we can record it on my phone. I will play it for Eddie tomorrow when we are at the recording studio in the afternoon."

"Sounds good." Mel grinned. Suddenly, Mel let out an excited shriek. Loren looked at her, startled. "Sorry! I am just so excited to actually be a part of the process from the beginning. I saw you write it, then I get to hear the first few runs of it, and finally, I get to be there for the first time you record it. I expect to be the first one to film it for a sexy music video."

"It isn't a sexy song."

"Oh…" Melissa pouted. "Well, either way, it is still so cool to be a part of this process. I am so proud of you, Lo. I can't believe you are going to a recording studio tomorrow. Can I come watch?"

"Um, of course!" Loren said, smiling. "I need you there to keep me calm."

"I think Eddie can take care of that; I will be there to bow down to you and your greatness." Loren giggled. "Alright. Do what you need to do, and then I will record it." Loren nodded. She took a couple of deep breaths and then opened her mouth to begin singing. When she finished what she wrote, she held a hand up to Mel to stop her from saying anything. She made a few tweaks to the paper, changing a few words here and there. Then, she began to tap out a rhythm on the table. She sang out the first verse to it, before shaking her head and thinking for a moment. While Loren was working through her issues with tempo and the words, Melissa watched her, enthralled. Finally, Loren settled on how she wanted it to sound.

"Alright, I am ready. Can you record it, please?"

"Yup, just a second." Melissa picked up Loren's phone, playing around with it until she set it up to record some audio. "Okay, ready when you are."

"Okay, this is called _Who Says?_" She took a deep breath and began singing the words a cappella into her phone.

"_I wouldn't wanna be anybody else, hey  
You made me insecure  
Told me I wasn't good enough  
But who are you to judge  
When you're a diamond in the rough_

_"I'm sure you got some things_  
_You'd like to change about yourself_  
_But when it comes to me_  
_I wouldn't want to be anybody else_

_"I'm no beauty queen_  
_I'm just beautiful me_  
_You got every right_  
_To a beautiful life_  
_Come on!_

_"Who says, who says you're not perfect_  
_Who says you're not worth it_  
_Who says you're the only one that's hurting_  
_Trust me that's the price of beauty_  
_Who says you're not pretty_  
_Who says you're not beautiful_  
_Who says?_

_"It's such a funny thing_  
_How nothing's funny when it's you_  
_You tell 'em what you mean_  
_But they keep whitin' out the truth_

_"It's like the work of art_  
_That never get to see the light_  
_Keep you beneath the stars_  
_Won't let you touch the sky_

_"I'm no beauty queen_  
_I'm just beautiful me_  
_You got every right_  
_To a beautiful life_  
_Come on!_

_"Who says, who says you're not perfect_  
_Who says you're not worth it_  
_Who says you're the only one that's hurting_  
_Trust me that's the price of beauty_  
_Who says you're not pretty_  
_Who says you're not beautiful, who says?_

_"Who says you're not star potential_  
_Who says you're not presidential_  
_Who says you can't be in movies_  
_Listen to me, listen to me_

_"Who says you don't pass the test_  
_Who says you can't be the best_  
_Who said, who said?_  
_Would you tell me who said that, yeah_  
_Who said_

_"Who says, who says you're not perfect_  
_Who says you're not worth it_  
_Who says you're the only one that's hurting_  
_Trust me that's the price of beauty_  
_Who says you're not pretty_  
_Who says you're not beautiful, who says?_

_"Who says you're not perfect_  
_Who says you're not worth it_  
_Who says you're the only one that's hurting_  
_Trust me that's the price of beauty_  
_Who says you're not pretty_  
_Who says you're not beautiful_  
_Who says?"_

Loren finished singing, smiling at Melissa.

"I have one thing to say: Eddie, if you don't think this song is amazing, you are officially insane. Just saying." Melissa said into the phone before shutting off the recording. Loren laughed, rolling her eyes, taking the phone from Mel. She opened a blank text message.

_Loren: Even though I still hate you after you were a jackass this morning, I thought I would tell you that I wrote a new song this afternoon. I will play it for you tomorrow at the recording studio. It isn't ready to be recorded yet, but I wanted to hear what you thought about it._

_Eddie: Oh, you aren't mad at me. I am sorry I acted like a total jerk, but as I keep telling you, you are so much fun to tease. I am looking forward to hearing your song, Loren. Good night._

"I just tweeted that you are a musical genius." Melissa told her. "Is Eddie looking forward to hearing your new song?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Nothing that I need to punch him about tomorrow?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Okay, good." Loren turned her attention back to her phone, logging into twitter. She smiled when she saw that Eddie had tweeted her. She quickly sent out her own tweet before deciding she needed to focus on her homework before she lost all motivation to get it done at all. She and Melissa needed to plan out what she will be wearing to the recording studio the next day.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Can't wait to see Love_To_Love_You record her first demo track tomorrow afternoon. I also can't wait to hear two new songs of hers tomorrow._

_Love_To_Love_You: Wrote a new song this afternoon. I seem to be full of creativity. I am so excited to hit the recording studio tomorrow. #nervouswreck #superexcited_


	6. Chapter 6

**Somebody**

**Chapter 6**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights **_**Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**A Perfectly Good Heart**_** by Taylor Swift; **_**Who Says **_**by Selena Gomez and the Scene**

**Author's Note: I hope that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you all like this one, too. I have no idea what kind of instruments Taylor's song uses aside from drums and guitar, so bear with me when Loren works out the kinks with a band in this chapter. **

* * *

Loren did her best to make it through Friday without passing out from the nerves and excitement over recording her songs. They were going to be rough, probably just her and her guitar or the piano, but it would be enough to get the record label to take notice. Hopefully. She was so scared that no one from the label would like what she wrote or her voice. The only things that were getting her through today were the warm, well-wishing tweets from Loren's new followers and the encouragement from Nora, Eddie, Mel, Adam, and Cameron. She didn't really care about anyone else from school, especially not when Adrianna tried to psyche her out.

Nora had plans with Don well before Eddie and Loren had planned on the recording session, so Mel promised to film EVERYTHING so that Nora didn't miss anything. And, when Mel said everything, she meant everything; she had begun filming the moment they had climbed into Mel's car after school to go to the studio. Adam had driven, so Mel could film. Loren sat in the front see, eyes closed taking deep breaths to keep herself calm and humming her songs to herself.

"Mel, you are going to have to stop doing that before I break your camera," Loren said after awhile. "I can't concentrate when you are in my face with that thing."

"Sorry." Mel stopped filming for awhile, but started up again the moment they parked at the studio. Loren rolled her eyes as they walked in the doors, meeting Eddie, Jake, Jake's junior manager, Kelly, and a couple of other people. "Nora, we have just walked into the studio to meet the rock star and his peeps. Loren is obviously three seconds away from peeing herself or throwing up. Only time will tell. She is also wishing that you were here to celebrate in this joyous moment with her, but you are off with your boyfriend being all lovey-dovey." Loren turned and glared at Melissa.

"Seriously, Mel, when my mom said film everything, she meant when I was recording. Not give her a blow-by-blow of me walking into a room. Cut it out."

"Well, Nora, you should know that your daughter is being a tad bit bitchy at the moment. Check out the glare she is shooting at the camera. She would pull of those 'hate the camera' model moments. Oh, Lo, make love to the camera!" Eddie started laughing, making Loren blush completely red.

"So, yeah, this is the former-BFF, Mel." Loren waved her hand at Mel, rolling her eyes. "My mom had plans, so Mel took it upon herself to film everything that happens today for her to watch later. Um, this is my friend, Adam."

"I drove, because Mel was too busy filming Loren sitting in the car." Everyone chuckled, and Melissa somehow managed to bow while still filming Loren.

"Loren, allow me to introduce you to Jake, my manager, and Kelly, his junior manager." Eddie reached a hand out and pulled Loren forward by her upper arm. Loren extended her hand to Jake and Kelly, smiling broadly.

"It is so nice to meet you both. This is so exciting. I had no idea that this would happen; I felt like a total idiot when I left my phone behind. I was so scared that Eddie would find my songs and think that they were stupid." Loren blushed, running a hand through her hair.

"Loren, you are so talented; I have no idea how you didn't know that." Eddie told her seriously, pulling her into his side into a half hug. "Am I right, guys?" Loren was conscious of the fact that everyone was looking at her, including Melissa and her camera, so she kept her squeal deep inside from the fact that Eddie still had an arm wrapped around her waist.

"You really are talented, Loren. When Eddie sent the lyrics to me originally, I thought that they were a pretty good start for his next album, but then he sent that short recording of you singing, and I was pretty shocked. Your voice was a little weak on the recording, but the link to the video of you singing was great." Jake told her, crossing his arms.

"The second I saw that video, I knew that you were born to be a star." Kelly nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to get this whole process started, because you are so good!"

"Oh, wow! Thank you so much. I never thought about sharing my music with anyone. I could have killed Melissa for blogging about my video and sending Eddie the full link, because these songs were essentially my diary coming to life." She ran a hand through her hair. "I am just excited to start this process."

"Oh, shush. You love me." Melissa said, scoffing. Loren turned around and blew Mel a kiss.

"You are the bestest friend a girl could ever have!" Loren said in a childish voice. She laughed, turning back to Eddie.

"This Jack, Wyatt, Brad, and Daniel." Eddie said, pointing to the men standing beside Jake. "Jack runs the control room, and Wyatt and Brad are couple of the studio's house band members that we brought in to help fill out your songs. Daniel is from the label, and he is going to bring your demo to the big guns as soon as we are done here." Loren nodded, shaking hands with the men.

"It is so very nice to meet you all. I don't have any music for you guys to follow," she began hesitantly, looking to Eddie. "I didn't even think to bring anything like that."

"It is fine. They can pick stuff up rather quickly, and they already filled in some background stuff from the video of _Mars _and _Breathe_. You did say that you wanted to record them, right?"

"Yeah, they are definitely two of the songs that I wanted to record." Loren bit her lip. "The last song I can just do on guitar, acoustically for now." She smiled at the band members. "I don't know how to write music for drums or bass, so I can't help out there."

"We are pretty good at picking stuff up quickly, so if you want to go over it a few times with us before you record it, then we might be able to work something out." Wyatt said.

"That sounds great!" Loren gave him a broad smile.

"Should we get started then?" Daniel asked, and Jack led the way to the studio they would be using. Loren took a deep breath before getting set up inside of the sound booth. She insisted that she play her guitar, because she would be a nervous wreck if she didn't have something to hold in her hands.

They started with _Mars_. Loren felt the most confident in that song, because she had sung and played it for so much longer than _Breathe_. It went well. The first few times, they let her play the guitar while she sang, so that she could get more confident in the booth. After she played it three times with the guitar, Jack finally convinced her to put it down, since it was over-powering her voice. The next time that they recorded it, with just Loren singing, everyone applauded when she was finished. She turned bright red, running her hands through her hair out of embarrassment. While Loren took a break, drinking water to relax her throat, the band played the instrumental parts, and she was shocked to see Eddie play guitar. When he came out of the booth, she gave him a huge hug; it was like the day they had met. She couldn't seem to stop herself from doing it. They repeated the same process with _Breathe_.

Loren practiced playing it on her guitar a few times with the rest of the band. Then, they recorded the instrumental portion; while listening to the instrumental portion in headphones, Loren recorded her first vocal track of it. At the end of it, she shook her head, asking to record it again. She tweaked it slightly by singing a slightly higher pitch, and this time it sounded perfect in her opinion.

The entire time, Melissa filmed the experience, capturing moments that Loren would be so grateful to have for her entire life. She couldn't believe that she was here and doing this. They had been recording for the last hour and half, and they were finally ready to start on Loren's last song, _A Perfectly Good Heart_.

She sat down in the booth with Wyatt and Brad to discuss her next song. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eddie leave the control room with his phone pressed against his ear. She tried to ignore the sourness that filled her stomach, focusing on the two men sitting with her. "So, this is how I wrote it for just guitar." She began to play her guitar, giving them an idea of how the song flowed in her head.

"We could pair that with another guitar and drums." Wyatt said, grabbing an electric guitar. "We could feature your acoustic guitar and background would be electric and drums. So, play your guitar again, and I will come in with something to see how it goes together." Loren nodded, playing again. Wyatt began playing with her, and she couldn't stop the grin on her face as she listened to them play together. It sounded great.

"Yeah, and it doesn't need any crazy drum combos or anything. Something simple, like this." Brad began to play an easy rhythm on the drums, and then three of them played it all together.

"That sounds amazing." Loren said when they finished.

"Yeah, this is only a demo, so, once you have a whole band, it is easy to fill in everything else, like keyboard and stuff." Wyatt smiled. "Let's run through it again before we record the instrumental part." They played it again, and this time Loren sang the words softly. The entire time, she felt Wyatt's eyes on her, and it took everything she had not to flush red. Wyatt was cute, blond like Cameron, but with dark eyes instead of blue. He couldn't be much older than twenty-five, but Loren wasn't fully sure of how old he was. When they finished, she couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Hey, Loren, the instrumental part sounds great. You ready to record it?" Jake's voice came through the intercom, and she jumped slightly, coming back to her surroundings.

"Yup," she called out to them, looking into the control room to see that Eddie wasn't back yet. She indicated that they were ready, and they recorded the instrumental section. Wyatt and Brad cleared out, and Loren was left alone to get situated behind the microphone to sing the vocal part.

Eddie still wasn't back, so she told them she needed a minute to wet her throat. She cocked her head to the side, and Melissa seemed to get what she meant, because she nudged Adam and whispered something to him. Adam nodded and walked to the door of the control room and popped his head out. A few moments later, Eddie came back in, hanging his phone up with a slightly perturbed look on his face. Loren smiled when he locked eyes with her, giving her a thumbs up. She took a deep breath before gesturing to Jack to start the instrumental part. Her eyes shut involuntarily as she began to sing into the microphone.

"_Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?  
Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart?  
Now, why would you wanna make the very first scar?  
Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_

_"Maybe I should've seen the sign_  
_Should've read the writing on the wall_  
_And realized by the distance in your eyes_  
_That I would be the one to fall_  
_No matter what you say, I still can't believe_  
_That you would walk away; it don't make sense to me_

_"But, why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_  
_Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart?_  
_Now, why would you wanna make the very first scar?_  
_Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_

_"It's not unbroken anymore_  
_How do I get it back the way it was before?"_

She tapped her foot to the instrumental part, bobbing her head to the music. She opened her eyes and looked at everyone in the control room. She couldn't read the look on Eddie's face, but Melissa was grinning like crazy. She took a deep breath and began the final lines of the song.

_"Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_  
_Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart?_  
_Now, why would you wanna make the very first scar?_  
_Why would you wanna break?_  
_Why would you wanna break it?_

_"Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_  
_Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart?_  
_Now why would you wanna make the very first scar?_  
_Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?_

"_Mmmm hmmm mmmm."_

Loren figured that everyone in the control room, except for maybe Eddie, would think that the song was about a boy that had done her wrong, but really it was about her dad. This was the first full song she had written when she was fourteen, and it was after she realized her poems could make songs. She wanted to tell her dad how hurt she was over him leaving. She wondered if this was why she found herself never really allowing herself to fully fall in love with someone. Cameron had been so good to her, the best first boyfriend a girl could ask for, but she didn't let herself fully open up to him, nor did she fully let him into her heart.

She made her way into the control room where everyone was waiting for her. Everyone applauded when she walked it, and she felt so embarrassed, running a hand through her hair and blushing. Eddie walked over, pulling her into a tight hug. "Trent was an idiot," he whispered in her ear, and she let herself feel like a normal girl and see him as a normal guy for a moment. When he released her, she gave him a small smile before turning to everyone else that were waiting to tell her how beautiful the song was.

"Loren, you are only eighteen! There has to be some really happy moments that your wrote about," Kelly said as she pulled Loren into a hug.

"Yeah, I do." Loren blushed. "I really just wanted to record these songs." She smiled, wringing her hands. "Can I hear them?"

"Sure," Jack said as he began tweaking some things from the table. "These aren't perfect yet; that will take me a few minutes, but I can give you a rough version of what everything sounds like put all together." He began playing _Mars_ for everyone, and Loren couldn't keep the grin off her face. It was so crazy how great the song sounded, almost like she was a completely different person on the recording. Jack then proceeded to play all three songs. She felt the tears begin to spill down her cheeks. Wyatt came to stand on her left side, and Eddie was on her right. He wrapped his arm around Loren's waist, pulling her into his side and away from Eddie.

"You are so amazing," he whispered in her ear, and Loren carefully glanced over her shoulder at Mel. Her best friend's jaw was practically on the floor as she filmed the moment. Mel carefully jerked her head in Eddie's direction. Loren glanced at him, seeing that he had his hands shoved into his pockets and was staring at the floor, a sour look on his face. She couldn't tell if it was because of his phone call from earlier or if he was…jealous? But, surely he wasn't jealous of Wyatt's arm being wrapped around her and his flirty demeanor towards her. After all, Eddie had a gorgeous model girlfriend to occupy his time with.

"Miss Tate," Daniel stepped forward, holding a hand out to Loren. They had been standing around, waiting while Jack had put the last finishing touches on the songs for her demo. "You are very talented, and if it were up to me, we would sign you." Loren covered her mouth with her hand and smiling broadly.

"You tell them that I won't do another tour without her." Eddie said, crossing his arms over his chest. Loren turned to him, shocked.

"Eddie," she smiled, running a hand through her hair. "You don't mean that."

"Of course I do." Eddie said at the same time that Jake said, "Of course he doesn't." Eddie glared at Jake, and Loren looked back and forth between them. She laid her hand on Eddie's upper arm.

"You made my dream come true with just this, so even if it doesn't work out, thank you. But, you will go on that tour, or else the hearts of thousands of young girls will be devastated." She crossed her arms and gave him her best determined face. "I will not be the one held responsible for that." Eddie grinned, pulling her into a hug. Was she imaging things or was he holding her tighter than he had hugged her before. She pulled away from the hug and turned to Jake. "Thank you so much for letting me have this opportunity."

"No problem, Loren. It was a pleasure working with you today." Jake held out his hand to her, and she smiled as she shook it. "Well, we should head out now, Eduardo. We got a dinner meeting with a possible sponsor for the next tour." Eddie nodded his hand, turning back to Loren.

"I know that you wanted to show me one of your new songs, but I really got to go to this meeting."

"That's fine. It is your job." Loren waved it off.

"I will skype you at eight." Eddie gave her a look, and she knew that she turned bright red. She buried her face in her hands. Melissa laughed, and Loren made a mental note to punch her later.

"You won't ever let that go, will you?" She whined, looking at him through her fingers. He laughed, shaking his head and nudging her with his shoulder.

"Talk to you later, Loren." He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, before leading the way out the door. Jake followed, waving goodbye to everyone. Kelly said her goodbyes, hugging and kissing Loren's cheek the same way that Eddie had.

"C'mon, Lo; we gotta go, too." Loren nodded at Mel and gave big hugs to Jack, Brad, and Wyatt. She shook Daniel's hand.

"Thanks so much, guys!" She waved goodbye and followed Melissa out of the room.

The ride home was quiet, surprisingly even for Melissa, as they all took in what had happened that day. Loren had just recorded three songs in a studio. They arrived at Loren's house, and she just sat there for a moment before giving Melissa and Adam a small smile and getting out of the car.

She walked into the house and into her room, squealing as she collapsed on her bed. All of this was so amazing. She couldn't believe that all of this was happening. It was almost too much; she clutched a pillow to her chest, just taking a moment to breathe and think about what had been happening to her. Her phone buzzed from her purse, and she grabbed it, seeing that Eddie was calling.

"Hello?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Loren, hey; it's Eddie." She grinned.

"Eddie?" She sighed. "I know so many Eddies…" She trailed off, making him laugh.

"It's Eddie Duran, actually." She hummed to herself for a moment.

"Oh, right! The Eddie Duran that sits behind me in Brit. Lit!" She giggled.

"Yup, that's me. I am the one always quoting T.S. Eliot." He laughed. "Your funny, Loren Tate."

"Thank you." She paused. "Cameron never really got my jokes." She ran a hand through her hair. "I threw a party once during freshman year before he and I started dating, and he said the only reason why he came was because one of the girls from his Spanish class sent out a mass text. I made a joke about conjugating irregular verbs, and he didn't get it."

"It seems like you two were really different." Eddie said after a moment. "I don't see you two being together; I just can't picture it."

"It is easier when you are fifteen, though, being different. Everyone is trying to find their place in high school; he was smart, cute, and on the underclassmen lacrosse team. We were in a lot of the same classes in middle school, and he was friends with a few of the girls I was friendly with." Loren picked at a pulled thread on her bedspread. "We started hanging out with big groups of people, and then the groups started getting smaller and smaller, until it was just him, Mel, Adam, and I. Then, it was just him and I. Suddenly, freshman year starts, and we are one of the cutest couples that everyone was dying to be." She rolled her eyes.

"Dates between Cam and I often consisted of studying, getting pizza after school, and going to the movies. We often didn't agree on movies, so we would switch off on who picked and paid." Loren smiled, thinking back on all the times they had spent together. "It was actually pretty economical for us, considering we began dating before either one of us had a job, a driver's license, or access to a car. It was easy. Fun."

"How did it last two and a half years, though?" Loren frowned. "I mean, I get the whole figuring out who you are when you are freshmen, but you guys lasted for so long and obviously grew to be interested in very different things."

"How does your relationship with Chloe last?" Loren asked, eyes narrowed, even though Eddie couldn't see that. "You work at it. Being with Cam was fun, easy, and great. I loved every second of it, and when things ended, it was hard. The other night was hard, because we finally got the closure we needed. I wish that things didn't get so messed up between us, but I don't regret a second of being with him."

"Okay, yeah, sorry. It isn't my place to ask you about your relationship." Eddie sighed. "I am just feeling a little messed up in the head right now."

"Why?"

"Chloe and I got in a fight on the phone." Loren felt her eyebrows rise so high that they probably disappeared into her hairline.

"Oh? What about?"

"You, actually." Eddie said quietly. She felt like her heart skipped a beat. "She doesn't like all the back and forth tweeting or the texting and the phone calls. She thinks it is great that I want to take time out of everything to help you with your career, but she feels like I am investing too much into your career and not enough into my own." Loren gently let out the breath she was holding.

"Well, I can see where she is coming from." She said slowly. "We have been communicating a lot online, and I keep getting a lot of PMs on twitter asking if we are dating and such. That might be rough for Chloe to keep seeing that and having people asking about her relationship with you." She closed her eyes, feeling like this phone call was taking a turn for the worse. "As for your career and my career, I really appreciate all that you have done for me, but you should focus on your own work."

"So, you don't want my help anymore?" He asked, and she heard the hurt in his tone.

"No! I am not saying that at all." She ran a hand through her hair again, sighing. "I just mean that you have a lot of stuff on your plate, and I can't help but feel like you helping me is a distraction from what you need to do."

"Maybe I need the distraction." Eddie said quietly.

"And, I am sure that Chloe is wishing that you used her as that distraction, rather than me."

"It is easier with you." Loren felt her jaw drop open. "You are in the same field as me; she is constantly flying off to do modeling shoots in New York or Milan or Thailand, or off trying to book a commercial or cameo in some TV show to try to start her acting career. You are in music, and it is easy to distract myself by helping you start a career that I know something about."

"You acted before." Loren offered. "I loved that movie. You were amazing." She laughed.

"Thank you; it was fun, but acting isn't my thing, you know. Music is. That is part of the problem, too, because she is putting all this pressure on me to meet with Osborne Silver and star in one of his pet projects. I can't take time off from the next album to do a movie, even if I am really blocked right now on songs."

"Look," Loren began. "It seems like you are feeling burned out and that you need some time off; maybe the movie isn't what you want, but a vacation and time to relax from all the pressure you feel to give everyone what they want." She paused. "I also think you should talk to Chloe about everything."

"I know; I really shouldn't be talking to you about problems in my relationship. She is great, really. I love her to death, and we have a lot of good times together. I am just feeling so much pressure that a regular conversation with her is being blown way out of proportion." Loren closed her eyes, nodding. "Thanks for hearing me, Lo. You are like my own personal Dr. Phil."

"Well, allow Dr. Loren to give you some advice. Take tomorrow off to just relax and have fun. Invite Chloe if you want. Call up an old friend and do something. Turn your cell phone off for awhile. Just allow yourself to breathe." She paused. "I know! Go to Disneyland." She giggled.

"Disneyland? Really?" Eddie laughed. "Disneyworld is so much better, but I guess I could do Disneyland on short notice."

"Being a kid again is one of the best ways that I use to recharge my creative batteries when I am feeling blocked."

"The only problem is that I have no one to go with." Eddie whined, making Loren roll her eyes. "Chloe is still in New York, and Jake is all business. My pal, Ian, is a photographer and on a job in London. So, there really isn't anyone for me to go to Disney with…except...no…I can't…I shouldn't…" He began mumbling to himself. Loren shook her head, knowing where this was going.

"Don't even think about it."

"What? I didn't say anything," he laughed.

"You are going to get into bigger trouble with Chloe." Loren told him in sing-songy voice. Eddie laughed harder.

"Please? You said turn off the phone and just have fun with a friend, pretending to be a kid again. Be a kid with me, Loren!" She pressed a hand to her forehead.

"I don't know…" She crinkled her nose. She wanted to go, but she knew that this would only make her more confused.

"Bring Mel and Adam." He said, begging her. "Hell, bring Cameron. I would love to meet the ex-boyfriend."

"Oh, Jeeze." She muttered. It was safer if there were a group of them, but she didn't plan on inviting Cameron. That would be beyond awkward, and there would be an odd person out, so she would feel obligated to go with Eddie or with Cameron, thus hurting the other's feelings. "I will see if Mel and Adam can come, but Cam is busy tomorrow." She was lying, but she figured that he was probably busy. At least Eddie didn't know that. She walked over to her desk and logged into her computer.

"Bummer," Eddie said, but she could tell he didn't care one way or another. "But you still will come if Mel and Adam are busy, right?" She bit her lip for a moment, silently thanking God that Mel was on facebook at that moment.

"Mel's on facebook; let me ask her if she is busy." Loren said quickly, ignoring his last sentence. She opened a chat box and began messaging Mel. "Give me a few."

_Loren: OMG! Eddie wants to go to Disneyland with me tomorrow. Please say you can come!_

_Mel: WHY WOULD YOU WANT ME TO GO!? IT IS A CUTE DAY DATE BETWEEN YOU TWO!_

_Loren: Because Chloe will kick my ass if she finds out that her boyfriend and I spent the day together at one of the Happiest Places on Earth!_

_Mel: What do you mean?_

_Loren: She is already pissed at him for tweeting/texting/calling me_

_Mel: Oh…well, if you want me there, I will go._

_Loren: I do; I can't be alone with him on a fake day date…Bring Adam_

_Mel: That makes it like a double date; there would be a lot of Loren/Eddie moments and Mel/Adam moments…I guess I will go_

_Loren: Ha! I knew you liked Adam! You two would be so cute! Not a double date; just even number of people. He did say I could bring Cam._

_Mel: Do not! Well that would be so awkward for you but fun for me. DO IT!_

She started giggling, not even realizing she was still on the phone with Eddie. "What's so funny?" She jumped, almost dropping the phone.

"Oh, um…so I am under the firm impression that Adam and Mel would be the cutest couple ever, and they are so into each other but don't know the other feels the same way. So, when I said that you were inviting all of us to go, she said it seemed like a double date." Loren crinkled her nose in embarrassment about saying that, but quickly kept talking so that Eddie couldn't interrupt. "She said there would be a lot of Mel and Adam moments and decided she guessed she could go. I told her that I knew she liked him and that they would be cute together, but she keeps insisting that she doesn't like him."

"Well, we will just have to make sure that they spend a lot time alone together then." Loren bit her lip. "I guess I will have to deal with spending all my time with you…like I wanted originally."

"Eddie…" She made a pained face, thankful that he couldn't see her. "That kind of stuff is what Chloe is concerned about."

"Yeah, I know…sorry." He laughed. "But, we are friends, right?"

"Yeah, friends…" She saw that Mel had sent her several facebook chat messages.

_Mel: Lo?_

_Mel: HELLO? You there?_

_Mel: Are you ignoring me?_

_Mel: Is Eddie distracting you._

_Loren: Sorry, we were talking…he says that he is going to have to insist that you and Adam spend a lot of time together and then he would have to deal with spending all of his time with me. And that that is what he wanted to do originally._

_Loren: So, I reminded him that this is the kind of stuff that Chloe is pissed at him about, and he was like: I know; sorry; but, we're friends…_

_Mel: GAHH! He likes you!_

_Loren: Stop! I am the one that is going to get hurt in this situation. If he cheats, I am the skanky other woman; if he doesn't, he stays with Chloe. Either way, he is probably staying with Chloe_

_Mel: Well, we will have to force some male bonding between Adam and Eddie tomorrow, then…we can talk about vaginas and periods and cramps and such tomorrow to keep them away._

_Loren: I don't even want to talk about any of those things._

_Mel: No one does._

"So, Mel is in. Adam is in by default, because Mel never really allows anyone a choice in anything." Loren said to Eddie. "What time did you want to go?"

"Um, how about we all meet at the café for breakfast and then we can take my car there. Say about 8:30?"

"Sure; sounds great." Loren paused. "Tell Chloe that you are going with us." She said after a few moments.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Eddie said quickly.

"Eddie! I don't think she would take kindly to a PM from me…This is only going to be messier for you."

"Fine, I will tell her." He paused. "Hey, I want to hear your song."

"Well, it is saved on my phone…"

"Sing it to me." She bit her lip. She typed her goodbyes to Mel and logged off of facebook. She grabbed her diary from her desk and walked over to her bed.

"This feels weird…" Loren said after a few moments. "I am embarrassed."

"Oh, would you stop! There is nothing to feel embarrassed about. You recorded three songs yesterday, and you did great. Let me hear it!" Loren groaned, running a hand through her hair.

"Fine…" She put him on speakerphone, laying the phone down on the bed. "I put you on speakerphone, so can you hear me?"

"Yup, you are perfect, Loren."

"Okay, well…I need a minute." She closed her eyes and began to hum the song to herself, getting her nerves out. She took a deep breath and began to sing the lyrics.

_"I wouldn't wanna be anybody else, hey  
You made me insecure  
Told me I wasn't good enough  
But who are you to judge  
When you're a diamond in the rough_

_"I'm sure you got some things_  
_You'd like to change about yourself_  
_But when it comes to me_  
_I wouldn't want to be anybody else._" She continued to sing the song, her eyes closed and bobbing her head to the music. She pictured how it would sound on guitar. She started miming what she would do on guitar, and when the song ended, she opened her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

"So, yeah, that is it…" She bit her lip. "I wrote it the other day because this girl at school told me that I was not talented and that you were crazy for thinking that I was, and she said she had no idea what Cam ever saw in me and that I wasn't pretty and a bunch of other hurtful stuff, so I felt like I had to write a song about loving yourself…I don't know…it is stupid…"

"No, it's not stupid. It is a great song, Loren." Loren blushed, still feeling uncomfortable. "First of all, you are amazingly talented, and I am most definitely not crazy." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Second of all, she is obviously jealous of you, because you are ridiculously gorgeous." She felt like her cheeks were burning, and her face hurt from the amount of smiling she had done that day.

"No, I am not gorgeous…" She said slowly, taking him off speakerphone and pressing her phone to her ear. "I am not saying I am unattractive or anything, but there are far prettier people in the world than me."

"Yeah, well, I think that what makes you so gorgeous is more than the outside; it is about what is on the inside, and you, Loren Tate, have a beautiful soul, which makes you far more attractive than most of the pretty people in the world." Loren felt so good for a moment, before she had to remind herself that she couldn't let herself fall for him. It was so hard, because he was so sweet and cute, and he flirts with her all of the time.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem. Listen, I better get going. I will see you tomorrow?"

"Sure, but remember you need to call Chloe and tell her about tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know…I will, I promise."

"I will hold you to that. I expect to get a PM on twitter from one Chloe Carter saying, 'You better stay away from my man!'" Loren said, jokingly.

"Oh, God. I don't think she would say that to you."

"I would." Loren laughed. "Are you kidding? I had to practically make out with Cameron at a party sophomore year, because this girl from a local Catholic school kept hitting on him right in front of me. He kept saying 'my girlfriend' over and over, and she didn't even bat an eye." Loren rolled her eyes. "Skank."

"Wow," Eddie laughed. "The more I get to know you, Loren, the more I am shocked by what I learn. I didn't peg you as the jealous, possessive type."

"Yeah, well, I don't take kindly to losing things." She said quietly. "My issues with sharing have always gone well beyond the only-child syndrome."

"He really was an idiot for leaving you, Loren. He missed out on seeing you grow up into such an amazing person."

"Thanks, Eddie." She shook her head, trying to shake away the unpleasant thoughts and feelings she was experiencing. "Go call your girlfriend. I will see you tomorrow." She hung up the phone and fell back into the pillows with a sigh. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Somebody**

**Chapter 7**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Teardrops on my Guitar**_** by Taylor Swift**

**Author's Note: Thank you all for all of your reviews; some of them make me giggle, while others make me sad because I don't want to disappoint you all. Especially, because it is going to be a long while before Chloe and Eddie breakup and Eddie and Loren get together. Sorry! Oh, and I created Ella. Don't hate her, because she is awesome!**

* * *

Eddie sent Loren a text at 10:30 the night before, telling her to get everyone together for breakfast at 7:30, and that they were going to get breakfast to go. With traffic, it was likely going to take them about an hour, maybe more, to get to Anaheim from L.A, putting them at the parks at about 9:00 at the latest, hopefully.

Nora was not pleased that Loren had made plans to go to Disneyland with Eddie at all. When she got home from her early dinner date with Don before he went to a convention over the weekend, Loren told her that she had made plans to hang out with him.

"Um, I don't know, Loren." Nora said, putting her hands on her hips. Loren was dressed for bed, having been doing her homework while she waited for her mom to get home. Loren frowned, playing with the drawstring of her flannel pajama pants.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this whole thing with Eddie is going really fast."

"What whole thing?" Loren threw her hands up in the air. "There is no thing with Eddie. He is helping me get signed with his label so that I can open for him; he really likes my music, Mom. I was so scared to ever share anything I wrote with people, because I was afraid it sucked, but he loves my music. He thinks I have potential." Loren ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh, so that is all it is? Business? You don't have feelings for him? You don't fantasize that this is going to turn into a relationship?" Loren glared at her mom. "I just don't want you to fall for him and get hurt."

"I am the only one who keeps saying that this is a business relationship! I have Melissa telling me that Eddie is so into me and will probably dump Chloe for me; I have Adrianna telling me that this is him feeling sorry for me and trying to look good for his fans. I have you saying that I am in love with him and that I am going to have my heartbroken. And, Eddie…don't get me started on Eddie." Loren groaned, sitting down on the arm of the sofa. "He is the most confusing to me. I keep telling myself not to get attached, but then he says things that make me think that Mel might be right. Then, other times he says things that make me die a little inside."

"Oh, Lo…" Nora said, coming over and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What's going on?"

"He keeps telling me that he thinks I am beautiful and amazing. He keeps saying that it is so easy for him to talk to me or be around me, because we are so much alike. He keeps telling me that he never understood my relationship with Cameron and asked me all these questions about why I would ever want to be with him. Most of all, he tells me about the problems between him and Chloe, but then says that he loves her." Loren pressed a hand over her eyes. "Then, two seconds later, after flirting with me and making me feel like there might be something there, he says 'we're friends.'"

"See? This is why I don't want you hanging out with him! I don't want to see you get hurt by him. He is in such a different world, and maybe this is how he acts with friends in Hollywood, but this is not how you treat a friend here in the Valley." Loren laughed, but it was self-deprecatingly.

"Yeah, well, that is why Melissa and Adam are going with me tomorrow. Eddie is insisting on having a lot of us and them time, so that we can help get them together," Loren said, rolling her eyes. "Melissa knows I am feeling conflicted, so she promises to pull out the feminine issues conversation with me to get me away from Eddie."

"Good."

"She is also ready to punch Eddie if he gets too flirty with me, and you know she is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, so she will make it clear to him that his behavior is inappropriate."

"I am glad that she is going with you." Nora pulled away from Loren and sat down opposite her on one of the arm chairs. "That being said, I still think that you should distance yourself from Eddie." Loren bit her lip, playing with her hands in her lap.

"I know…" She whispered after a moment. "I want so badly to be his friend…or, more…but I don't want to keep feeling so confused."

"So, be his friend tomorrow, and then distance yourself. No one-on-one hangout sessions anymore."

"What about our music?"

"Okay, but if you do anything with music, stick to public places. Like the studio or his manager's office. But, if you are alone, then make sure it is about the music and nothing more."

"Put up walls," Loren said quietly. "I certainly know how to do that."

"Oh, Loren…" Nora stood up, pulling her into a big hug. "I love you so much, and I am so sorry that…" Nora paused, releasing Loren to look into her eyes, both hands clutching her shoulders. "I am sorry that Trent left you and made you feel like you weren't good enough. You are an amazing person, and he missed out on seeing you grow up to be the special girl that you are."

"Thanks, Mom, but I think he was an even bigger idiot for leaving you." Nora shook her head, wiping at the tears that leaked from her eyes.

"No way, baby. I am nothing compared to you." She pulled Loren into another tight hug. "I love you, sweetie. Eventually, you will find a guy who doesn't make you feel like you have to build up walls around yourself."

"I already have," Loren whispered. "Unfortunately, he is with someone else." With that, Loren broke the hug and made her to her room.

* * *

Loren didn't get much sleep that night, and when her alarm went off at 6:00, she felt tired, miserable, and not the least bit happy. Hopefully, spending the day in Disneyland with her two best friends would make her feel better, even if Eddie left her feeling conflicted.

Loren decided to dress in jeans and sneakers that were comfortable for walking around in. On top, she wore layered tank tops; the bottom one was a teal, while the one on top was a thin white that was nearly transparent. She tucked her debit card and some cash into her teal iPhone cover to hide it, before shoving the phone into her back pocket. Loren put on a light amount of makeup, a little bit of gray eye shadow, dark eyeliner and mascara, light pink blush, and a clear gloss. She grabbed an elastic hair tie to keep on her wrist in the event that she needed to pull her hair up into a ponytail. Loren studied her appearance in the mirror, deciding that she looked great, casual.

She made her way out of her room to the kitchen. Adam was picking up her and Melissa and parking at the café. From there, they were going to take Eddie's car to Anaheim. She wrote a goodbye note to her mom just as there was a knock at the door. She figured that it was Adam and Mel, so she made her way to the door, her jaw dropping when she saw that Cameron was standing there…with his childhood best friend and next door neighbor, Ella. "Cam, Ella, hi." She gave them a quick smile, stepping back to let them in the house. She was confused about what they were doing at her door at ten after seven in the morning. Especially, because Ella went to the University of San Diego and should be in San Diego for school; Loren had always wondered if Cam had gone for her since Ella was a year older and therefore out of reach. Ella was majoring in Environmental Studies, and she was planning on going to law school with interest in environmental law. Loren was more interested in family law, but it was always an eerie coincidence that she and Ella wanted to go to law school.

"Hey, Loren! It is so great to see you!" Ella was always so excited, which was a lot different from Loren, so the coincidences between the two of them generally stopped at interest in law school. "Are you excited to be finishing up you senior year?!"

"Um, yeah, it is really exciting. I am hoping to hear from Brown soon, because I sent in an early decision application."

"Oh! I remember you wanted to go there! Poli. Sci., right?" Ella asked, twisting one of her red curls around her index finger. Ella was really pretty, with the kind of bright red hair that you couldn't help but admire, and bright green eyes. She wore black thick-rimmed glasses with rectangular frames that made her look smart, but sexy, like the librarian fantasies that TV shows and movies depicted. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple white t-shirt, but she looked gorgeous.

"Yeah, that's right." Loren bit her lip. "So, what's up?"

"Oh, Mel texted me last night to say that you all were going to Disneyland today, and that I was welcome to join you." Loren gave them a big, fake smile.

"She did? That is so great!"

"Yeah, she said I should bring a friend, and since Ella was home for the weekend, I thought of her."

"Great!" Loren said.

"Yeah, so she told me that I should pick you up and that we were meeting them at the café. But, who all is going? I figured that Adam was going, too, but that means there would be five of us…" He trailed off, scratching his head. Loren was trying really hard not to run out of the house to go kill Mel.

"Um, with you two, there will be six people going." She closed her eyes for a minute. "Eddie is actually the one driving." She said carefully.

"Oh…" Cameron said carefully. "Really?"

"Yeah, he has been having trouble writing a new stuff, and I told him that whenever I get blocked, I hang out with Mel and Adam and act like a kid again. I suggested that he go to Disney, and he invited me to go with him, because Chloe is in New York for a job."

"Huh…" She nodded, turning to smile at Ella.

"Shall we go?" Loren said quickly.

"Yeah! This is going to be so much fun! Cameron told me that you met Eddie Duran, and that he liked your music! I am so excited for you! He said you were recording songs!?" Ella said as the three of them went to Cameron's car. Loren felt like she was going to explode. She sent a nasty text to Mel and listened to Ella talk about her first month of classes at USD and how amazing they were.

When they arrived at the café, Cam dropped off Ella and Loren at the entrance and went to pack in the back corner of the parking lot to save room for the real customers throughout the day. She and Ella walked quickly into the café, with Loren looking around for Mel. She spotted her sitting at a table with Eddie and Adam. "Oh, look, there's Mel!" Ella said excitedly. "I haven't seen her in so long! MEL!" She called out from the doorway. Mel jumped up from her seat, and her eyes got huge. Ella went running over to the table, giving Mel the biggest hug.

"Ella, hey!" Mel said quickly, mouthing that she was sorry to Loren over the redhead's shoulder.

"It is so great to see you! How are you doing!? What are you doing for college next year?! Are you still interested in film?! Adam!" She pulled away from Mel and dove on Adam. "How are you!? I saw on facebook that you were applying to schools in New York City! That is so exciting!" Ella pulled away again, laying her eyes on Eddie. "O.M.G.! You are Eddie Duran! This is so cool! Crap! I have to pee! Be back in a few, guys! Oh, please tell Cam to get me my usual nonfat soy latte?!" Ella bounced her way to the bathroom.

Loren turned and gave Melissa the biggest death glare she could muster. "Oh, my God! I HATE YOU!" Loren growled at her, dropping into the chair next to Eddie.

"I am so, so, so, so, so, so, SO SORRY! Lo, I am telling you, I did not think that in a million years that Cameron would invite Ella!" Melissa said, burying her face in her hands. Adam just laughed. "Shut up! You aren't helping!"

"Um, so…what was that?" Eddie asked, trying his hardest not to laugh.

"I told you that Cameron was busy today, Mel," Loren said through clenched teeth. "And, yet who knocks on my door this morning? With Ella!?"

"Sorry!" Melissa glanced up as Cameron walked into the café. "Hey, Cam!" She said in a strained voice. "I am so glad that you could join us today. I didn't know that Ella was home."

"Yeah, she came home for the weekend to surprise her parents. They came to dinner at my place last night." Cam said, laying a hand on Loren's shoulder. "I really wish that you could have been there, Lo. My mom would have loved to get her two favorite girls in the same room again."

"Yeah! I am so sorry to have missed it." She gave Eddie a fake smile. "Eddie, this is Cameron. Cam, this is Eddie."

"Nice to meet you," Cam said, extending his hand to Eddie.

"Back at ya," Eddie said as he shook Cam's hand.

"And, the ball of energy in the bathroom is Cam's neighbor and best friend, Ella. She is attending USD this year. She is an Environmental Studies major with plans to go to law school and go into environmental law. She has decided that she is going to minor in Marine Studies, because her interest is in the pollution of our oceans and our world's bodies of water." Loren said, still with the same fake smile on her face. "Oh, and she has officially became a vegan this year, so yay!"

Melissa closed her eyes for a moment, shook her head. "So, glad that she came home for the weekend."

"Yeah, it is really great. She saw that song that you recorded for me, Lo, and she shared it will all of her friends at school. Did she tell you that she is going to join a sorority? She is also in a bunch of clubs at school, like Invisible Children and stuff. She is so excited to make a difference at USD." Cam was saying, grinning. Loren narrowed her eyes. Yeah, Cam definitely always had a thing for Ella.

"That is so great. Um, Ella wanted you to order her usual low fat soy latte." Loren told him, and Cam nodded, running off to the counter to order Ella's drink. "Oh, my God! This is like my worst nightmare rolled into one." Loren moaned quietly.

"She seems nice. Very energetic and friendly, but nice." Eddie said, rubbing Loren's back. She tried not to freeze up under his touch.

"Oh, Ella is so freaking sweet, and we always did love her when she hung out with us." Melissa said, biting her thumb nail. "But…"

"Cam is so freaking in love with her, it is insane!" Loren burst out. "Seriously, whenever she was around it was like a freaking competition between his two girlfriends!" She ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe you, Mel!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ella is so sweet and completely oblivious to the fact that Cam is into her, and I think he didn't even realize it."

"But, it is hard when you boyfriend's best friend is Ella." Melissa finished. "That girl would put Chloe to shame in the looks department, no offense, Eddie."

"Yeah, she is pretty, but I don't think she is—" Eddie began.

"Oh, you don't get it. Her energy and her kindness are infectious. She would go out of her way to be nice to everyone; you broke your hand, she would take notes for you, type them up, and then make flash cards for you to help you study. She would go well-beyond what is expected. She is like the most perfect girl that you can imagine." Loren said. "Even though she was so sweet and good, I always felt like I had to compete, and I resented her."

"Well, I can understand that," Eddie frowned.

"Cam and I aren't together anymore, but I still can't help feeling resentful." Loren sighed. "At the same time, I want them to be happy together, because they are like perfect together."

"I really am sorry that I invited them." Melissa told Loren. "I honestly thought he would bring Cassie or Shawna or someone from school, but not Ella."

"It's fine. I will get over it. I just need to get my head off of past insecurities and go from there." Loren shook her head. "I think I need a massage or something; I have a ton of stress knots in the back of my neck."

"You should try yoga! I LOVE IT!" Ella said as she ran back to their table. "It really opens your body up, and I swear I can fold my body into the most interesting positions." Melissa snorted, and Ella frowned. "What?"

"Sorry. That was just so dirty." Melissa joked.

"OH! I didn't even realize that!" Ella giggled. Cam brought over the steaming to-go cup for Ella and one for Loren. "Thanks, Cam-Cam." Ella said excitedly, taking a sip of her vegan drink.

"Oh, Cam, this is sweet, thanks." Loren said, sipping her tea.

"It's no big deal. I figured I owed you one for dropping in so suddenly." Loren smiled at him, feeling bad for wishing he wasn't around. She really did care for Cam. "I wasn't sure what everyone else wanted, so I thought I would come back to take orders."

"A really, really big black coffee." Melissa told him. "I need the caffeine to keep up with Ella today." Ella giggled, sipping her drink.

"Stop it! You are so funny, Mel!" She said.

They ordered their drinks and muffins and piled into the back of Eddie's car. "I can't believe you are making your driver come with us." Loren laughed as she climbed in beside him.

"Well, he is a driver and body guard to keep the crazed teenage girls away." Eddie shrugged. "There will be a few moments when I will stop and shake hands, sign autographs, the whole nine yards, and the rest will be spent just enjoying time with you and your friends." Loren tried to ignore the tremor that went through her when he shifted in the seat, bumping his knee against hers.

"Right," she whispered, giving him a small smile.

"So, Eddie! Tell me about your new album!" Ella said excitedly, grabbing Loren's hand from her seat next to her. "Cam said you have been fighting for Loren to be your opening act! That is so exciting!"

"Um, it isn't anywhere close to being an album right now. I am in the process of writing, but I don't have much yet." The entire time, Eddie kept his attention on Loren, and she wasn't sure how to read the look he was giving her. "Loren is helping, though. She writes really amazing stuff; it has been rubbing off on me." Loren blushed, looking away from him. Ella squeezed her hand.

"Well, Loren is ridiculously brilliant! I was so happy when Cam-Cam started dating Loren his freshman year! They were the cutest couple; I was so sad to hear that you guys weren't going to give it another go this year." It was the first time Loren had seen Ella frown in a long time.

"El," Cam said, rubbing a hand over his face. "We talked about this; it was a mutual thing. Loren and I are sticking to being friends."

"But, you guys are perfect! I am telling you, Eddie! They loved each other so much! And, their first kiss was so ridiculously adorable!" She giggled, and Lorne turned to stare at her.

"What?" She asked; her voice became a very unflattering, high pitch.

"Oh! I never told you guys, did I?" Ella laughed. "My boyfriend at the time, Evan, was dropping me off from our date, and you guys were sitting on Cam's front porch, holding hands and whispering. Then, Cam-Cam gave you the cutest kiss ever, and I about died on the spot! It was so cute! You two were so cute!" Ella said excitedly as she bounced in the seat beside Loren. "I knew it wasn't Cam's _first _kiss, but I knew it was your first kiss as a couple. I wanted to run over and give you both a big hug."

"Oh, it wasn't your first kiss?" Loren said, leaning around Ella to look at Cam. "That is news to me."

"Well, I figured that kissing someone when you were five didn't count, Loren."

"Yeah, I mean, we were little bitty kids, so that doesn't really count." Loren dropped Ella's hand.

"You two?" She said after a moment. "I feel like I should have expected that, but it still completely blind-sides you when you hear it." Loren said quietly. Ella just laughed, thinking that Loren was making a joke and began chattering away to Adam about how great college is. Melissa grabbed Loren's hand from where she was sitting across from

"I am so, so, so sorry!" She whispered. "I am such an idiot."

"You think?" Loren shook her head. "It is already kind of weird having Cam here when we are still navigating couple to friends, but adding Ella into the mix?" She whispered to Mel. "You owe me so big, it isn't even funny."

"Loren, I honestly didn't think."

"No, you didn't. You thought you would amuse yourself by making sure that Cam came, but this is crazy uncomfortable for me." Loren told her. She took a deep breath, sighing. "I am sorry. I shouldn't take out my frustrations with you." She reached out, grabbing Mel's hand. "Friends?"

"Friends! Thank God you aren't mad at me!" Mel pulled Loren into her lap to give her a big hug.

"You guys are ridiculous." Eddie laughed when Loren finally settled into the seat beside him. "But, you are a good friend. Make sure you stay friends with her after you become a star. Schedules and the crazy rock star life get in the way, but make sure you make time to be her friend." He whispered in her ear. His breath tickled her cheek, and Loren dug her nails into the side of her leg to keep from acting like a crazed person.

"Mel is my best friend, and I love her like she is a sister." Loren turned her head to whisper to Eddie. Their faces weren't far apart, and she knew that if one of them leaned over even just an inch, they would be kissing. She tried her hardest not to let herself look at his perfect lips. "She is going to be there with me the entire time."

"Good," Eddie whispered back. They looked at each other for a moment, before Loren turned back to her tea.

* * *

The duration of the ride was spent with the gang eating, drinking, and listening to Ella babble on and on about college and fun times with Cam, Loren, Adam, Melissa, and whatever boyfriend she was with at the time. Eddie occasionally bumped his shoulder against hers, calming her whenever Ella said something that made her cringe. It was going to be a long day.

Luckily, traffic wasn't too bad for a Saturday morning. They were able to get there by 8:45. "So, California Adventure Park closes first, so if you guys want to go to both parks, we should probably start there." Eddie told them as the driver parked the car.

"Then, let's start at Adventure Park." Loren said. "As much fun as some of the kiddy rides are, I say we stick to the ones that are a little more adult-friendly."

"Really?" Eddie pouted.

"Remember when I told you I wasn't eleven? Yeah…" Loren joked as they walked towards the ticket booths.

"Oh, I _know_ you aren't eleven…" Eddie said, winking. Loren groaned, slapping his arm. Melissa started laughing, making Loren groan louder.

"You two suck!" She muttered, stomping ahead. She went to buy her ticket, but Eddie pushed her hand away.

"I got it. Everyone's." He smiled. Loren shook her head.

"No, you can't!"

"Of course he can!" Melissa said, whipping out her digital camera from her purse to take a picture of Eddie holding a card out to the person in the ticket booth. He was wearing sunglasses and a hat, so the girl didn't know who he was. His credit card had his name on it though, so when the girl saw it, she looked up with a big smile on her face. Eddie held a finger to his lips and mimed signing an autograph. She nodded, grabbing a pad of paper from her purse and a pen, handing it over. He signed the receipt and the pad of paper for her, and then they moved into the park.

"I totally forgot to tell Jake that I was sorry to hear about his wife's father yesterday!" Loren said, stopping suddenly so that Ella accidentally walked into her. "Oh, sorry, El."

"It's fine! What about whose dad?" Ella asked, wrapping a curl around her finger.

"My manager's wife's dad had a stroke, so she had to go back to Chicago. Jake went with her, but when we squared away the details for Loren's recording session yesterday, he flew back to check out the _talent_." Eddie said, nudging Loren's shoulder. "He stayed long enough for her to make her demo, and a meeting that he couldn't postpone until next week, then he took a redeye to Chicago last night to be with his wife and her family."

"It's okay, you know. You can say he was coming to see if I was actually worthwhile." Loren rolled her eyes as they walked around the park.

"No…" Eddie said, shaking his head at her. Loren cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay, fine, but you blew him away, so he was glad that you got the opportunity."

"Who wouldn't love Loren!?" Ella asked. She suddenly squealed, pointing her hand at a small line of people ahead of them. "Look, Minnie and Mickey!"

"Oh, we need to get autograph books!" Melissa grabbed Loren's hand and dragged her into a nearby shop to buy autograph books. When everyone had their autograph books and Disney pens, they made their way over to Minnie and Mickey to take pictures. Eddie's body guard/driver took a group shot of them; Eddie and Loren were in the center with Mickey next to Loren and Minnie next to Eddie. Then, Ella was clutching Minnie's arm with Cam on the end; Melissa was holding on to Mickey's arm, with Adam at the end on the other side.

The girls and Minnie took a ladies' photo in which all of them blew kisses to the camera. The guys and Mickey took a guys' photo, where they all were standing with their arms crossed on their chests, trying to look 'cool.' The next photo they took was with Loren and Mel pretending to press kisses on Mickey's cheek. In the background, Eddie, Minnie, and Adam pretended to look pissed. Then, they all took individual pictures with Mickey and Minnie on either side of them, waving. Finally, the last picture was of Mickey and Loren holding hands and pretending to kiss. They all got their autograph books signed, and they moved on to ride the rides.

This was how they spent most of the day, taking pictures with the characters as they came across them and riding the rides. Loren and Eddie sat together for most of the rides, which left Loren feeling breathless, because she couldn't help but feel like it was a date. At about one, they had hit the majority of the rides that were more adult-friendly before they got lunch. They then decided to switch to the other parks, because they were open later. Loren was shocked by the treatment they got from just being with Eddie. A lot of people willingly took them to the front of the line or took them in the back entrances, as if they had those passes that let them butt ahead of everyone.

While in Disneyland Park, Loren and Eddie rode together in the last seats of the Space Mountain car, with Mel and Adam in front of them, and Cameron and Ella in the third row from the back. They wanted to put as much space between Eddie and his fans. While on the ride, in the dark, Loren felt Eddie's fingers graze hers. She closed her eyes, allowing herself the moment to be a normal girl on a date with a normal guy. Their fingers wrapped around each other, and Loren opened her eyes and looked at Eddie. He turned his head at the same time, giving her a shy smile. She returned it for a moment, but she knew the dip when the picture was taken was coming up, so she released his fingers and looked away. As with every ride that took pictures, they each bought copies of the picture. Loren almost didn't want to buy her picture with Eddie, because he was still looking at her, and he looked sad that she had broke contact with him. Her face wasn't much better. When the ride was over, one look to Mel told her best friend everything.

"I have to pee!" Mel announced. "Lo, let's run to the ladies' room, and then why don't we take a shopping break. We can get cute Disney clothes." She grabbed Loren's hand and dragged her into the nearest bathroom. "Spill. What's wrong?" Loren grabbed a paper towel from the wall dispenser and used it to dab at the tear that spilled down her cheek.

"On the ride, he…he held my hand." Loren shrugged. "Well, we held fingers for a few moments and shared a look, but it was a loaded look."

"Oh, Lo," Melissa pulled her into a hug. "I could kill him for doing this to you."

"No, it's fine. I just can't ride with him for awhile. Do you think we could sit together for the next few times?"

"Of course. I am sick of hearing Adam's whiny screams in my ear." Loren gave Mel a sad smile.

"How's it going between you two?"

"As it always does." Melissa rolled her eyes, washing her hands, because there wasn't much else to do in the bathroom when she didn't actually have to go. "I keep telling you that I am not interested in him."

"I know you do, but I thought I would ask."

"So, is it still weird for you having Ella and Cameron here."

"Sometimes, especially when Ella decides to bring up how cute she thought Cam and I were together or something about our old relationship."

"Eddie always looks a little weird when she does it, so maybe she is doing it to help you two out?"

"Why would she do that?" Loren crossed her arms, looking at Mel.

"To make sure you stay away from Cam?"

"But she doesn't need to do that." Loren frowned. "I am not with Cam, and he and I are not going to get together again."

"Maybe she wants to make sure of that."

"If she wanted Cam, she could have him in a second; I honestly think that he has always been in love with her."

"Let's get out there before they think that we are pooping." Mel said suddenly, making Loren grimace.

"You are crazy." They walked out of the bathroom with their arms interlocked. Eddie was signing a few autographs for some of his fans, and when he saw her, he gave her a small wave. Loren held back, not wanting to interfere with his interactions with the fans. When that was done, they all made their way into one of the shops, and Loren began looking at a stuffed Piglet. Eddie came up beside her, picking up the Pooh Bear.

"Hi," he said quietly, turning to face her. "So, I should probably apologize about earlier." She kept her eyes on the display in front of her, running her fingers over Piglet's ears over and over.

"You don't need to apologize, but you should explain yourself." Loren said after a moment.

"I guess I got caught up in the moment today. Chloe has been gone a lot lately, and I miss her. I have been around you a lot over the last few days and we have talked a lot; we have become friends, and it was easy to combine how much I miss Chloe with the connection you and I seem to have. So, I didn't mean for that to happen. We are friends, and I shouldn't be acting like that around you, no matter how much I miss spending time with Chloe." Loren nodded her head, giving Eddie a sad smile. Eddie's phone rang, and he glanced at it before ignoring the call and putting it in his pocket. "Piglet's cute, but my favorite is Pooh."

"Piglet's always been my favorite."

"See? Even our favorite characters are best friends. What did I tell you about fate, Loren Tate?" He grinned at her, taking the Piglet from her hands. "Let me buy this for you?" Loren's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she took it out to look at. She saw that it was an alert from twitter saying that she was getting a private message. She opened the message, and her eyes narrowed as she read it.

_PrincessChloeCarter90: Tell MY boyfriend to stop ignoring my calls and to call me IMMEDIATELY! He owes me an explanation on what the hell he is doing with you today._

"Eddie, why is Chloe Carter sending me a private message through twitter saying that you need to call her and that you owe her an explanation for why you are with me?" She showed him her phone, completely pissed off.

"Oh, so…yeah, I didn't exactly tell her that I was coming to hang out with you today."

"Are you kidding me?!" Loren shook her head. "Call your girlfriend, Eddie!" She looked at the other tweets she had been getting from one of her many new followers since Eddie had started tweeting her regularly. They were all asking how was Disneyland today and if she was dating Eddie.

She stomped over to Melissa, feeling extremely frustrated. "He lied to me; he didn't tell Chloe about being here with us today." She sighed, pulling her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. "I just want to go home and take a bubble bath."

"What was he talking to you before you stomped off all mad?" Mel asked her as she held a shirt up to the front of Loren. "You should get this. It is cute." Loren looked at the shirt that was gray with Belle on it. She shrugged, throwing the shirt over her arm.

"Well, he wanted to apologize for the whole finger-holding thing, and he said that he has been missing Chloe and letting his connection with me overlap with not spending time with Chloe, thus resulting in trying to hold my hand. He says that we are friends." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you and I are going against the world from now on." Loren nodded her head, glancing over her shoulder to see that Eddie had wondered off to a secluded part of the store and was having what appeared to be a disagreement on his phone with hopefully Chloe.

"Today was fun, but I think I am ready to go home, you know?"

"Yeah, should I use Lisa as an excuse?" Loren shrugged again. "Alright, I will use her. Go buy that shirt and let's get out of here. We could get a late dinner when we get back to L.A."

"Sounds like a plan to me." They made their way back to the rest of the group. Eddie finally hung up the phone and came over to them.

"So, listen, guys…" He began, but Mel interrupted him.

"Loren's got cramps, so she needs to go home." Everyone just looked at her, and Loren smacked her arm.

"No, I don't!"

"Loren, there's no need to be uncomfortable talking about it! Having your period is a natural part of every woman's life!" Ella was saying, and Loren smacked Mel again; this time, Mel cried out in pain.

"I hate you, Mel!"

"Okay, so I lied. Loren doesn't have cramps, but we are really tired and still have a ton of homework to do before Monday. Plus, Lisa is probably going to eat my face if I don't get home. Apparently, Golden Boy is in trouble with the law, so Lisa has us on a tight leash. It's not like I am the one stealing, but I still have the most ridiculous curfew. So, do you mind if we head out?" She asked Eddie sweetly.

"Yeah, I was actually going to say that I need to get going, because Chloe is home from her job in NYC." Eddie said, and with that they all left Disneyland. Loren didn't know if she had fun, or if it was marred by some of the sadder moments, like when she realized that Eddie wasn't interested in her, at all.

The drive home was quiet, especially because Ella had fallen asleep on Cameron's shoulder. Loren sat between Mel and Adam, and she let herself become absorbed with her thoughts. She kept thinking of lyrics, so she asked Melissa for her autograph book from her bag and a pen. She began scribbling down the lyrics in the back of the book.

_Drew looks at me  
I fake a smile so he won't see  
That I want and I'm needing  
Everything that we should be  
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about  
And she's got everything that I have to live without_

Drew talks to me  
I laugh 'cause it's so damn funny  
And I can't even see  
Anyone when he's with me  
He says he's so in love; he's finally got it right,  
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star  
He's the song in the car I keep singing; don't know why I do

Drew walks by me  
Can he tell that I can't breathe?  
And there he goes, so perfectly  
The kind of flawless I wish I could be  
She better hold him tight; give him all her love  
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky 'cause

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star  
He's the song in the car I keep singing; don't know why I do

So, I drive home alone; as I turn out the light  
I'll put his picture down and maybe  
Get some sleep tonight

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart  
He's the song in the car I keep singing; don't know why I do  
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough  
And he's all that I need to fall into

Drew looks at me  
I fake a smile so he won't see

When she was done, she read over the lyrics and sighed. She glanced up and saw that Eddie was watching her. "New song," he asked. Loren nodded her head. "Can I hear it?"

"It's not ready yet. I need to sing through it a few times and play around with the words first." Loren said, closing the book. "Maybe another time?"

"I'm looking forward to it." Loren doubted that he would ever want to hear the song she had just written for him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Somebody**

**Chapter 8**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Butterfly Fly Away**_** by Miley Cyrus (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus); **_**One Fine Wire**_** by Colbie Caillat; _Start of Something Good _by Daughtry  
**

**Author's Note: A big thank you to all the reviews. I am glad that you all are enjoying this story as much as you have told me. You guys are amazing and making me feel so good about myself. I might get a big head from all this praise! Just kidding. **

**So, a lot of you have been asking about when Chloe and Eddie are going to break up and when Eddie and Loren are going to get together. I hope that by saying this, I don't lose fans, but not for a really long time. I don't know how many chapters exactly, but I do know that I don't have plans to get them together for awhile. Believe me when I say that I love Leddie, and they are the ultimate goal, but I have this really cool idea in my head of how I want them to wind up together.**

**I hate to disappoint you guys, but I wanted to be honest. I hope you all chose to stick with me to the end. There are going to be some ups and downs before they finally get together. I really think that you will all enjoy where this story goes, though. **

* * *

When Loren finally got back to her house, she disappeared into her room without too much conversation with Nora. She signed into twitter and began to read all of the messages people were sending her.

A girl named Jillian Thomas tweeted saying that she saw her and Eddie while she was in Disneyland with her family. She attached a picture of Loren holding a map of the park with Eddie standing beside her, with his one arm on her shoulders and the other pointing out something on the map. A bunch of other Eddie Duran fans that were in Disneyland began tweeting pictures of Eddie, Loren, and the group. Thankfully, there were other pictures where Loren was being friendly with the rest of the group. There were a couple of pictures of Loren, Mel, and Ella dancing together by group of musicians, with the guys sitting on a bench nearby, drinking sodas. There were pictures of Mel and Loren with their arms interlocked as they walked around, with Eddie trailing behind her as he talked to Adam, Cameron, and Ella. There were pictures of them sitting down on a bench, with Loren sitting next to Adam and her head resting against his shoulder, while Melissa and Eddie were making faces at each other. There was also a picture of Loren and Cameron laughing and holding on to each other as they came stumbling out of the Tower of Terror.

Even though there were pictures of Loren in a variety of combinations with the rest of the group, she still had a lot of tweets going around about her and Eddie. Apparently, their couple name would be Leddie, because people kept tweeting #loveleddie or #leddieissocute. Loren sighed; no wonder Chloe got upset. Melissa texted Loren that she had posted all of the pictures from the day on her blog. Loren decided to change her twitter and Facebook picture to her pretending to kiss Mickey.

_Love_To_Love_You: My new husband! Shhh! Don't tell Minnie #drama #myonetruelove_

She tweeted, adding the picture to the end of the tweet. Then, she tweeted that she had a good time at Disney with her friends. She checked Eddie's twitter, but he hadn't updated it yet. She was sure that he was probably in a fight with Chloe, and she was pretty angry that he didn't tell Chloe. She decided to send a PM to Chloe as an apology.

_Love_To_Love_You to PrincessChloeCarter90: I am really sorry that you had to find out that Eddie went to Disneyland with my friends and me today from twitter and his fans. I thought that he had told you. I didn't mean for it to upset you._

Loren read over the PM before sending it. She didn't want to cause any more trouble between Eddie and Chloe, but she also wanted Chloe to know that she wasn't trying to upset her. Loren pulled out her guitar and decided to rehearse her new song some before working on her homework.

Nora knocked on her door, making Loren jump from where she was seated at her desk. "Hey." Loren smiled at her mom as she stood up and walked to her bed. Nora followed her, sitting down beside her. "How was Disney?"

"It was good. We had a lot of fun. Want to see the pictures?" Nora nodded, and Loren grabbed her laptop from the edge of her bed and loaded up Melissa's blog, handing the computer to her mom to peruse.

"These are so cute." Nora said as she looked at the pictures. They were quiet for awhile while Loren looked at all of the pictures that were taken on Mel's camera that day. "So, how was it hanging out with Eddie?" Loren shrugged her shoulders.

"It was hard, Mommy." She whispered after a moment. Loren stretched out on her bed, looking at Nora. Nora stretched out, sitting up against the pillows and headboard, patting her lap. Loren moved so that her head was in her mom's lap. Nora ran her fingers through Loren's hair. "Things were good until towards the end. While we were on one of the rides, Eddie held fingers with me."

"Held fingers?" Nora asked, confused.

"You know…when you interlace fingers without fully holding hands." Loren reached for her mom to demonstrate. "Like this." She pulled her hand away and laid it on Nora's knee.

"Oh, gotcha. So, he held your hand, sort of." Loren nodded. "What happened after that?"

"I pulled my hand away from his, and when we got off the ride, Mel and I went to the bathroom, so I could take a break. But, when Eddie came to explain to me, he made me feel worse, because he kept talking about how much he cares about Chloe and that he misses her when she is off working. He said that he let his feelings for her overlap with the connection he seems to have with me, and he apologized for holding my hand. He said it wasn't what friends do."

"Well, that is for sure." Nora scoffed, running her nail along rim along Loren's ear. She always did that when Loren was little and upset about something, and it would calm her and soon Loren would fall asleep.

"Yeah, and then Chloe PMed me on twitter, because he didn't tell her that he was hanging out with me, so that got us into an argument. The car ride was quiet and awkward. I was just so happy to be done with the day."

"Is he stupid? Why didn't he tell Chloe?" Nora asked, obviously frustrated with what Eddie was doing to her daughter. Loren shrugged, yawning. Nora was still rubbing along her eye, and she was gradually relaxing her.

"I am also confused about this music thing." Loren said slowly. "What if I get into Brown? I will have to decide between music and Brown. How will I know which one is right for me?"

"When you close your eyes, Loren, which do you see? Which one makes you feel happier? Which one do you want more?" Nora asked her. Loren felt her eyes close.

"I want to be a singer." She whispered.

"Then, that is what you will become," Nora said. She began humming the song she used to sing to Loren when she was a little girl before bed. She carefully began to sing the few lines that she had paired together. Loren smiled in her sleep as her mom sang to her.

_"Caterpillar in the tree  
How you wonder who you'll be  
Can't go far, but you can always dream_

_"Wish you may and wish you might_  
_Don't you worry; hold on tight_  
_I promise you there will come a day_  
_Butterfly fly away…"_

Loren awoke about an hour later with the words of her mom's short song in her head. She didn't know how Nora did it, but she woke with her head tucked against a pillow, rather than her mom's lap. She grabbed her laptop from the floor beside her bed where her mom had left it. She began to write a song for her mom; Loren included the two verses that Nora had come up with long ago. When she was done with the lyrics, she grabbed her guitar and began to strum the music that she heard in her head with the song. She began to sing the words, and she smiled when she looked up to see Nora standing in the doorway.

_"You tucked me in; turned out the light  
Kept me safe and sound at night  
Little girls depend on things like that_

_"Brushed my teeth and combed my hair_  
_Had to drive me everywhere_  
_You were always there when I looked back_

_"You had to do it all alone_  
_Make a living; make a home_  
_Must have been as hard as it could be_

_"And when I couldn't sleep at night_  
_Scared things wouldn't turn out right_  
_You would hold my hand and sing to me_

_"'Caterpillar in the tree  
How you wonder who you'll be  
Can't go far, but you can always dream_

_"'Wish you may and wish you might_  
_Don't you worry; hold on tight_  
_I promise you there will come a day_  
_Butterfly fly away,'"_

Loren paused. She played her guitar a little bit, smiling as she thought of her mom.

_"Butterfly fly away; butterfly fly away_  
_Flap your wings; now you can't stay_  
_Take those dreams and make them all come true_

_"Butterfly fly away; butterfly fly away_  
_We've been waiting for this day_  
_All along and knowing just what to do_  
_Butterfly; butterfly; butterfly; butterfly fly away_

_"Butterfly fly away_  
_Butterfly fly away."_

"That was beautiful, baby." Nora whispered.

"You aren't mad that I sort of stole your song?"

"No way! The lyrics you added it to was beautiful and so sweet."

"Can you record it? I want to share it with the world so that everyone knows how amazing you are."

"Oh, honey." Nora held up a finger and disappeared for a moment. She returned again with the tablet, just as she had a few nights before. She held it up ready to record Loren.

Loren waved at the tablet from her bed. "Hi, everyone! I haven't given you a new song in a few days, so I thought that I would share something really special with you. I just wrote it, and I think that you all will like it. Some of the words belong to one of the most amazing people in my life, however. So, without further ado, I would like to present with you _Butterfly Fly Away_ written by myself with special help from my amazing mother, Nora Tate. I love you, Mom. You are the best." She began strumming her guitar, with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. She kept her eyes closed the entire time as she sang the song again. "So, that's it, everyone. I hope that you all enjoyed that song that is dedicated to such a special person in my life."

Nora stopped the recording, handing Loren the tablet after she gave her a big hug. "Thanks, Loren."

"You deserve it. I meant every word of it." She sent the link to the video to her Melissa. "It should be on Mel's blog in about three minutes." Loren said laughing. "Then twitter to millions of people as soon as Eddie retweets it." She rolled her eyes. Like she predicted, Loren's phone buzzed with Melissa saying she loved Mama Nora, too, and that the song was up on her blog.

_**Butterfly Fly Away – Loren's New Song**_

_Everyone! I just got this new video from Loren about her mom. Nora Tate is pretty amazing, so this song made me feel tons of warm and fuzzies. I am sure you all are going to love it, too._

Loren copied the link to Mel's blog and sent out a new tweet.

_Love_To_Love_You: I love you, Nora Tate. She is the best mom ever. #newsong #luckiestgirlintheworld_

Loren added the link to the end of the tweet and sent it. Even though she had a pretty crazy day, she always felt better when she is with her mom. A few minutes later, Loren got an alert from Eddie's twitter. He retweeted Loren's tweet, and then sent out one of his own.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Loren's new song is beautiful. I love both my parents so much! Miss my mom everyday and wish she was here. Love_To_Love_You #number1fan_

Loren smiled sadly as she thought of how Eddie no longer had his mom in his life. She might not have her dad in her life, like he did, but she couldn't imagine losing her mom. "See?"

"I see that you are beginning to feel better." Loren nodded.

"You always make me feel better, Mom. Thank you."

"Well, maybe you should get some sleep. It is late," Nora told her. Loren glanced at the clock on her end table, and she realized that it was almost one in the morning.

"Sorry! You should get some sleep, too."

"It's fine. It is the weekend. Goodnight, honey." Nora kissed her head and then left Loren's room.

* * *

It was late Sunday morning when Loren woke up. The sun was shining in her room, and it was a beautiful, mid-September morning. She should be feeling happy, looking out the window at the bright sun, the birds flying high in the sky, and the squirrels running around the backyard, chattering at each other over the nuts and acorns they had found. Instead, Loren was feeling conflicted. Her brain was buzzing from activity as she thought of all the things that had happened to her in the last nine days. First, she had the most amazing eighteenth birthday with her best friend, getting to see Eddie Duran perform. She then actually met him; she couldn't believe how normal he actually was—a regular, annoying guy that teases her and broke into her phone to tweet the world her most private secrets ever. Not only did she get to meet him, but he had began tweeting her, texting her, calling her, hanging out with her; he had been praising her music and her talent and getting her name out into the world. She was suddenly thrust into the limelight (at least in the twitter world, anyway) and had recorded a demo. Loren also got to spend one of the most amazing days in the world at Disneyland with her best friends in the whole world.

But, at the same time all of these good things were happening, she was also experiencing so many bad things in her life, too. There was the fourteenth anniversary of her father's abandonment of her and her mom. She got in a fight with Cameron and later officially said goodbye to any future romantic relationship with him. Now, she felt herself beginning to feel something more than appreciation and friendship for Eddie.

Loren's phone chirped on her nightstand. She grabbed it, seeing that she had gotten an alert from twitter. Oh, goody, she thought to herself as she read the PM from Chloe; another bad thing to add to the list:

_PrincessChloeCarter90 to Love_To_Love_You: Listen up, little girl. Eddie is my boyfriend, not yours. Don't think for a second that this is going to turn into a romance for you two. This is only temporary, so don't get too comfortable. Have a nice day!_

Loren groaned; the thoughts were swirling around in her head, and she began to feel sick. She just wanted to sort everything out. She stood up and walked over to her desk where her diary was. She figured that maybe if she started writing about it, it would help her to clear out some of the mess. She took a deep breath and began writing.

She wrote about the confusion she felt over her dad. Why did he leave her and her mom? Why did he never write her? Why did he never call her? Why did he not care enough to be a part of her life? Why didn't he love her? She wrote about her confusion over college. Did she really want to go to Brown? Or, was Brown just an idea she thought she was supposed to want, because she thought that music would be too hard? Did she want to be a lawyer? She wrote about her confusion over music. Could she really have enough talent to become a singer? Would people actually want to hear about what she had to say? Would she be able to make it? Did she have what it takes to make it in this business? Would it burn her out or break her? She wrote about the confusion and heartache she felt over Cameron. Did she ever really love him? Or, did she build up so many walls around her heart after her dad left that she felt like she could never really fall in love? Would it be easier to forget everything and just be with him again? Finally, she wrote about her confusion over Eddie. Did he really think that she was talented? Did he really want her to open for him? Was he just doing this to look good for his fans? Did he want her to be his friend? Does he have feelings for her? Why didn't he tell Chloe the truth about yesterday? Why did he keep making her feel like he wants more than a friendship or a professional relationship with her, but then bring up Chloe and break her heart a little more? Did he even realize what he was doing?

Everything swirled and tumbled. All Loren wanted to do was to go to bed; to wake up tomorrow and to find out that it was all just a crazy dream. Her mom and dad would still be together; she would be going to Brown next year without a care in the world. She and Cameron would be celebrating their fourth year together on October 4th. Her life would be simple, and she wouldn't be feeling so many conflicting emotions. Eddie Duran would be nothing more than her favorite musician and a poster on her wall.

As good as writing in her diary felt to her, she still felt blocked and confused. She opened her laptop and signed into twitter. She looked at all the warm messages that people had said about the song she had written the night before about her mother. There were a lot of girls who tweeted, saying that they had single moms that were their whole world, too; those girls said that they now had a song to play or sing to their moms to help them to express how thankful they were that their moms were a part of their lives. There were other people said the same about their single dads, too—or grandparents or aunts and uncles or older siblings. She had touched people's lives with this song, because they felt like they finally had the words to say thank you to that person that loved them and cared for them and made them who they were today. It was moments like this that made her feel how lucky she had been in the last few days. As hard as some of it has been in the last nine days, there were moments like this that she realized that she was glad it all happened and that she had to keep going, if only to give other people the words to express how they were thinking and feeling.

That got Loren thinking. She couldn't be the only one feeling so caught up in their head and frustrated over everything they were experience. Once she had this realization, she began to hear the music flood her. She opened a clean page in her diary and began to write. When it was done, she couldn't believe it. It felt like something had broken inside of her, and all of the worries poured out of her onto that paper. Loren knew that she wasn't a hundred percent, and that she wouldn't be for awhile, but she felt like it was easier now, because she was able to get how confused she was off of her chest. So, even though she wasn't feeling good, she found herself not feeling bad. That was all she could ask for in that moment.

* * *

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Loren's phone rang. She had spent the remainder of the afternoon doing homework and working on her new song. She saw that it was Eddie calling. She sighed, taking a deep breath before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, so I was wondering if we could meet up for coffee or something." Loren opened her mouth, but then shut it again quickly. "We haven't talked since I dropped you all off at the café yesterday, and I feel like I should apologize." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "I feel like I have been apologizing to you a lot this weekend."

"I don't know…" She glanced down at the words she had written that afternoon. This was exactly what she meant when she wrote about her confusion with him.

"Please? I feel like you are mad at me or something, and I hate that." Eddie sighed loudly. "It's funny, because I feel like if it were any other person that I had only know for a few days, and I felt them slipping away from me, I wouldn't really care, but with you I feel like I am losing someone so more important." Loren closed her eyes.

"Um…" She paused taking a moment to think about what he said and what she was feeling. Maybe he just means that he cares about her and wants to be her friend. He also likes her music and wants to help her become a professional singer. That isn't a problem for her; it is the soft looks and the accidental touching and the other things that he says that makes her feel confused over what he wants and making her feel things that she didn't want to feel.

"Please, Loren?" She took a deep breath, knowing she was going to regret it.

"Okay." She looked down at what she was wearing. She was still in her pajamas and hadn't showered yet. "I was working on homework and music all day, so I haven't really gotten ready for the day, so can you give me an hour?"

"Sure, that sounds great. What if I pick up a coffee for me and a tea for you, and we can meet at our secret spot in an hour? Bring your guitar, because I would love it if we could work on some music together."

"Yeah, sure. That sounds great."

"Good, awesome. There is something that I want to play for you, so, yeah, an hour."

Loren smiled, agreeing to meet him an hour. She hung up the phone and ran for her bathroom, taking one of the fastest showers she had ever taken, not taking the time to shave her legs. When she got out, she quickly dressed in a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a light pink cardigan over top. She pulled on her brown boots over her jeans and glanced at the clock. She didn't have enough time to fully do her hair and makeup, so she quickly French braided her hair and then added a light layer of makeup to her face. She grabbed her tinted lip balm and shoved it into her purse, along with her diary, a pen, and her cell phone. She grabbed her guitar and car keys and rushed out of her bedroom door. "Bye, Mom! I will back by six for dinner!" She called out to Nora as she rushed out of the house towards her car, not even giving Nora time to say anything to her.

Loren arrived at their spot with five minutes to spare. She parked as close to the tree as she could, smiling when she saw him waiting there with his guitar on his lap. He had set up a blanket for them to sit on, and there were containers of food beside of him. She climbed out of her car, grabbing her guitar and purse from the passenger's seat, and made her way to the makeshift picnic he had created. "Hey, Eddie." She said, sitting down.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her as he set his guitar aside. "So, I don't know if you got any lunch yet, but I am half-starved, so I grabbed some food." He handed her a to-go cup of tea. "Your disgusting tea," he said, scrunching his nose in disgust. "I also got us a couple of waters. And, I got you a pastrami sandwich." She smiled, grabbing the bag of food.

"I am so hungry. Thanks," she dug her hand in and grabbed the sandwich. "Oh, and pretzels, too!" She grinned, taking one of the single-serving sized bags of pretzels. "I love pretzels."

"Me, too." Eddie laughed, digging into his own sandwich. "Especially freshly made soft pretzels, with mustard."

"Yum, minus the mustard part." Loren laughed, taking a huge bite of her pastrami sandwich. "I love going to carnivals and getting soft pretzels and cotton candy." She said after she had finished chewing and swallowing, taking a sip of her tea. "It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, and I think Cam and I went to a carnival for our first anniversary." She smiled at the memory. "I was so scared on the Ferris wheel that I kept my eyes closed the entire time, and Cam kept complaining that I was about to break his hand because I was gripping it so tightly."

"Sounds like fun," Eddie said as he took a bite of his sandwich. "I haven't been to a carnival in so long."

"Oh, that is such a shame! Well, at least you got to go to an amusement park yesterday," Loren told him. She grabbed a handful of pretzels and gave him a look that said, 'I'm waiting.'

"Right, so cue the apology." Eddie laughed. "I am sorry that I lied to you and told you that Chloe knew that you guys were going with me to Disneyland. I knew that she wouldn't like it and make me feel guilty about it, so I figured that I wouldn't tell her and everything would be fine. I just needed to get out of my head and away from all the pressure that Jake and the label have been giving me." Loren nodded her head. She can understand needing to get away from the pressure and thoughts slamming you. She had had that experience earlier that day.

"But, the problem with that is that you are in the public eye," Loren told him.

"Exactly. I can't be some normal guy who goes out with friends to have fun, you know. Fans saw me, tweeted about it, and I guess it got back to Chloe."

"I still think that you should have told her the truth," Loren said, picking up her sandwich. "She isn't going to trust you or me if you keep lying to her about hanging out with me. It is only going to make her get more upset and for things to become more complicated between the two of you." She took a bite of her sandwich, letting that sink into him for a bit.

"I know!" Eddie groaned, frowning at the food in front of him. "I made everything ten times more complicated by trying to avoid an argument and a guilt-fest from one Chloe Carter."

"Have…is…" Loren frowned. "Never mind. It isn't any of my business."

"What?" Eddie asked her, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Did you guys make up?" She decided on that. She wanted to ask him Chloe had mentioned the PMs between them. She also wanted to know if he had mentioned to her about holding hands with Loren the day before.

"Yeah, I think she and I are okay," Eddie said, shrugging as he swallowed the bite of food. "I mean, she says she trust me, so I think that means we are okay." He frowned, taking a sip of his coffee. "Although, she did not sound too pleased with me when I got off the phone with her on my way here. I mentioned that you and I were meeting to talk music, and she got really quite and then said she had to go."

"Well, I am glad that you told her that you were meeting me," Loren told him seriously as she chewed a small bite of her sandwich. "She is probably just not pleased that we are hanging out again, especially because this time we don't have any chaperones." She laughed humorlessly.

"Yeah, at least we had them yesterday." Eddie agreed. He stared at Loren for a moment, making her squirm.

"What? Do I have food on my face or something?" She asked, uncomfortable. She grabbed a napkin and wiped at her mouth.

"No, you're fine. I…" Eddie paused, rubbing a hand over his face. "It's just that if she checked out the pictures from your twitter page that you had posted over the time that you have had it, she could see…well," he paused again. "I can understand why she would feel threatened." Loren frowned, both at what he said and the fact that her heart skipped a beat.

"She is a gorgeous model, and I am nothing but a high school senior," Loren said quickly, grabbing her tea and taking a big sip, trying to ignore how it burned her throat as she swallowed it. "I am just ordinary, and she is most definitely not. There is nothing for her to feel threatened over."

"If you think that, Loren, then you haven't been around the right guys." Eddie told her, balling up the wrapper of his finished sandwich and tossing it into the empty takeout bag. Loren frowned in confusion. "They haven't been doing their job, telling you how beautiful you are." She blushed, looking away from him. This is what she was talking about.

"Eddie," she said quietly. It was almost inaudible, but she knew that he heard it. She was still for a moment, not daring to look up at him.

"I'm serious, Loren, and I am not going to apologize for saying it. You are really pretty, and from your tweets, anyone can see that you are smart, kind, humble, and funny. And, everyone knows how talented you are with all of those great songs you have been recording." Loren looked up at him, a small smile on her face. "The guys you date should be telling you that stuff and more every day."

"Thank you," she said, biting her lip. Loren knew that this kind of stuff only made everything more confusing for her. She began cleaning up her trash, shoving it quickly into the takeout bag that had turned into their trash bag. She sipped her tea, letting herself enjoy the small breeze that was blowing. "So, music…" She said quickly, before setting down her tea and opening her guitar case.

"Right, music." Eddie laughed, grabbing his own guitar and strumming it lightly. "Do you have anything that I can hear?"

"I thought you wanted to share one of your new songs with me?" Loren asked him, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah, well, I would rather listen to your stuff." Eddie said, giving her a big smile. "After all, in my opinion, you are the rock star, and I am just the lowly fan." Loren rolled her eyes before running her fingers over the strings.

"I wrote something today that I think you would really like," she told him after a moment. She reached into her purse over her guitar to grab her diary.

"Can I see it?" Eddie reached for her diary, but Loren quickly shook her head.

"Um, this is actually my diary, so…" She blushed.

"Oh, so I can't read it?" She shook her head again. "That sucks." Loren laughed.

"A diary is supposed to be private."

"Yeah, and so were those songs you wrote, but that didn't stop me." Eddie joked. Loren rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so maybe you can read one entry." Loren laughed. "Would that make you feel better?" Eddie grinned like a victorious little kid. She rolled her eyes again and began searching through her diary to see which entry she would let him read. She decided she might as well show him the entry from the day they had met. She let her eyes slide over the words before she handed the diary over to Eddie, feeling the tears sting in her eyes. He cleared his throat, preparing to read it aloud, making Loren bury her face in her hands.

"_September 8, 2012_

"_I woke up early again today. I think it hurt far worse today than it ever did before. It was like a sucking black hole was trying to bury me with the overwhelming despair that comes from this day. I don't know why this day was any worse than those before; I guess it was because yesterday was my eighteenth birthday, and I realized that I am now an adult. Well, technically, anyway. I had spent nearly my entire childhood without him, and I guess it kind of hit me today that I was no longer a child, and I would never get to fulfill the fantasy I had when I was a kid that my dad would walk through the door one day, wanting to see me grow up. Because, if we go by the law, I am now grown up; I am not a kid anymore, and he never got to see it happen._

"_I hate feeling sad or angry or anything over this; I live for the days when I feel numb—that it doesn't hurt anymore. I look forward to the day that I can wake up on this anniversary and no longer __care__ that he didn't love me enough to want to be a part of my life._

"_Today may have started out really badly for me, but it got a lot better towards the end. It was almost as if God or Mother Nature or karma decided to say, "Sorry for all the shit I put you through, Loren, so here is a nice ending to a shitty day." I got up early, as always, and went for a run to clear my head. The air burning my lungs and the pounding of my feet against the ground always seems to make me feel just a little bit better. Only today, it didn't work well. I was just about to write this day off as the second worst day of my life, when it suddenly changed._

"_There was an interloper at my secret spot today. In the four years that I had been going there, there had never been someone there when I was. Of course, the day that I looked disgusting, probably smelled worse, and looked like a crazy person throwing rocks over the edge, a person crashes my pity fest. Not only that, but it had to be Eddie Duran, of course. My idol. The person who's music I can start blasting and instantly begin to feel calm. The person who actually inspired me to turn one of my poems into a song one day. I was so embarrassed at how I looked, and the embarrassment only got worse when I unloaded on him. I can't believe I did that! _

"_Not only did I share so many personal things with him that I didn't even dare share with my Mom or Melissa, but I practically assaulted him by hug. Even though I was a complete nutcase, I couldn't help feel better, though, to let go some of that stuff that I had built up inside of me. I hate saying this, but it might have been more cathartic to share what I was feeling and had locked away inside of me than when I wrote about it in my music—the roundabout way where I talked about how much he had hurt me when he left. I feel so completely guilty, though, because I let myself get so concerned with my crap that I didn't even let him feel anything about what that day meant to him. It was the second anniversary of his mother's death, and I was talking about how awful my life was. He was hurting, too, and I just dumped all of my crap on him, like a self-centered bitch. I can't believe that I did that._

"_The only comfort I took from the completely embarrassing moment was the fact that he wouldn't know who I was. Except, of course, life can't work out that way, because I stole his jacket and left my phone behind. I tried to forget about the awful morning, but when Melissa showed me the tweets he had posted, I felt like my world was literally exploding. He tweeted __my__ lyrics. He thought I had talent. I had always thought of my music as not being that good, or at least not good enough to be something that played on the radio. But, Eddie thinks that I am a good songwriter and singer. It blew my mind._

"_Melissa was outrageous, as always; she tried to dress me up tonight, when I was going to meet Eddie to get my phone back, like I was going on a date or something. I tried to explain to her that this was a ridiculous notion, but she refused to see it. I think that she is so bored with her life—our life—that she is looking for any excuse to imagine something completely crazy to happen. Finally, I convinced her that it wasn't that big of a deal that I was going to meet a rock star at night at a spot that is usually completely empty and isolated. Okay, so that could sound like something romantic, but that is also the set up of a really great death scene in a horror movie._" Eddie paused, laughing. He raised an eyebrow at Loren, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"_When I met with Eddie, I only seemed to embarrass myself even more. I can't believe that I decided to practice __that__ song of all the songs tonight, but of course Eddie would hear it. I felt like such a ridiculous fan girl, and I had prided myself on being rather cool about it when we first met and with my mom and Mel. But, nope, I had to let my inner freak show._" Eddie laughed aloud again, grinning at Loren. "I knew that song was about me!" Loren glared at him, motioning for him to keep reading so that this humiliation could end.

"_Even though I kept embarrassing myself, I was happy to see that Eddie was nothing more than a normal person, albeit a bit of a jackass. I can't believe I talked to him about stuff that I hadn't even talked to Mel about. I mean, my relationship with Cameron has been so complicated recently, and I don't know what to do about it. For some reason, it is so easy for me to blab everything I am thinking or feeling to Eddie. I guess it was because I didn't think that I would ever see him again or talk to him again. Maybe the occasional tweet about my song or something, but other than that, I didn't expect anything._

"_But, Eddie actually liked my song and thought that I was good enough to share it with his manager. They want to meet with __me__ about a future career in music! Eddie wants __me__ to open for him on his next tour! That has to be the craziest thing I have ever heard. I mean, it was one song. It isn't that great. Plus, I have college next year. I have Brown (hopefully) and then law school. I have this whole future planned out that doesn't include being the opening act for my idol rock star. He seems so convince, though, that I am what he wants as an opening act and that I have potential as a singer, so I couldn't bring myself to deny him. So, I am meeting with Eddie and Jake in a few days. Holy crap is all I have to say about that. I doubt that anything will come from this, but I will go._

"_As amazing as some of this day turned out to be, I am still left feeling broken, empty, and in so much pain. I don't know if I will ever be whole again, and I blame it on him. I don't know if I can ever bring myself to feel fully happy, fully secure. I hate myself for even thinking these next few words, but it is how I feel. I know that if I were to see him again, I would tell him that I hate him for leaving me, but I never stopped loving him. He was my dad. Your dad is supposed to be the best man in your life, the man every guy you find yourself falling for is compared to; he is the guy who is supposed to embarrass you when he threatens any boy you bring home with a shotgun, a shovel, and some words about how the boy better be ready to dig his own grave in the backyard if his baby girl is hurt. He is supposed to be the man that walks you down the aisle, holding you up as you try your hardest not to fall in front of a crowd of people you love, especially the man you choose to spend the rest of your life with. I won't ever have that, because he didn't want me. He didn't love me. He left me, and I don't know why._

"_I was supposed to grow up thinking that I was special and lucky because of my dad. Instead, I was forced to grow up know that I wasn't good enough. Because, obviously there had to be something wrong with me to make him leave. Even though I __know__ deep down that isn't true, it still doesn't mean that it doesn't __feel__ like that. I just hate myself for always wondering what I did wrong that made him leave, and I hate myself for still loving him and for wishing that he was here._" Eddie took a deep breath, carefully shutting Loren's diary. "Holy shit." Loren nodded, taking the diary from his hands and holding it tightly in her hands.

"They aren't always that dark, but it was just a really hard day for me," she said, trying to shrug it off like it was nothing.

"There isn't anything wrong with what you wrote, Loren. You are allowed to feel hurt by what you went through, just as I am allowed to still feel sad and angry over my mom's death. Everyone either expects us to be a mess and feel obligated to take care of us, or everyone expects us to be strong for someone else, not letting us grieve and feel to keep them from feeling upset." Eddie put his guitar aside and moved closer to her, taking the guitar from her hands and setting it to the side of her. He took Loren's hands in his, squeezing them slightly to emphasize his point. "No one ever just lets us feel the way that we want to feel, and I guess that is why we are artists, you know." He gave her a sad smile. "We let what we experience out through our music, and you have every right to feel what you feel. Don't let anyone brush it off as nothing, you especially."

Loren felt the tears burn in her eyes, and just like before when she had first met him that day, she threw her arms around his neck and began to cry. He held her like before, and she just let herself feel everything that she built up inside of her. She knew that she was probably getting her snot and tears all over him, which is completely embarrassing, but she couldn't bring herself to stop or to pull away from him. After a few moments of him holding her tightly against his chest, Loren felt the tears ease up enough that she could pull away and wipe at her face with a clean napkin. "I am so sorry. Again, I just threw myself at you." She laughed sadly.

"It's okay," he whispered. He leaned forward, rubbing his thumb under eye to wipe away the tears and smudged mascara. He left his hand pressed against her cheek, and their eyes locked. They were quiet for a few moments before Eddie tucked a strand of her hair that had fallen out of her braid behind her ear. Loren thought for a second that he would close the distance between them and kiss her. Part of her longed for it, but the other part of her knew that it would be just because he was caught up in the moment after reading her very private thoughts and feelings. Plus, there was Chloe, and Loren knew that no matter what Eddie had said earlier, she couldn't compete with Chloe. She wondered if she even wanted to try to compete with Chloe.

"I probably look like a mess," Loren groaned, pulling away from his touch to continue to clean herself up.

"You are beautiful." He told her, settling himself back where he was before.

"Right, so…music." Loren said, grabbing her guitar and strumming it lightly. "I wrote this song about all the confusion I have had recently." She whispered. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and began to sing and play the song.

_"I tried so many times  
But it's not taking me  
And it seems so long ago  
That I used to believe  
And I'm so lost inside of my head  
And crazy  
But I can't get out of it  
I'm just stumbling_

_"And I'm juggling all the thoughts in my head_  
_I'm juggling and my fear's on fire_  
_But I'm listening as it evolved in my head_  
_I'm balancing on one fine wire_

_"And I remember the time my balance was fine_  
_And I was just walking on one fine wire_  
_I remember the time my balance was fine_  
_And I was just walking on one fine wire_  
_And it's frayed at both the ends_  
_and I'm slow unraveling_

_"Life plays such silly games inside of me_  
_And I've had some distant cries following_  
_And their entwined between the night and sun beams_  
_I wish I were free from this pain in me_

_"And I'm juggling all the thoughts in my head_  
_I'm juggling and my fear's on fire_  
_But I'm listening as it evolved in my head_  
_I'm balancing on one fine wire_

_"And I remember the time my balance was fine_  
_And I was just walking on one fine wire_  
_I remember the time my balance was fine_  
_And I was just walking on one fine wire_  
_And it's frayed at both the ends_  
_And I'm slow unraveling_

_"And I remember the time my balance was fine  
And I was just walking on one fine wire  
I remember the time my balance was fine  
And I was just walking on one fine wire_

_"And I'm juggling all the thoughts in my head  
I'm juggling and my fears on fire  
but I'm listening as it evolves in my head  
I'm balancing on one fine wire..."_ She finished the song, opening her eyes and hesitantly looking at Eddie.

"That was beautiful." Eddie said after a moment. "I definitely can relate…" He whispered, studying her. There it was, another moment when she thought that his words meant more than their literal meaning; another moment where Loren thought that he might try to kiss her.

"Thank you. That is why I wrote it to be so unspecific, because I figured that there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way that I do. They are confused about what is going on and what they want." She looked down at the guitar in her hands. "I have been feeling that a lot over the last week or so."

"Are you still so unsure of your ability to make it in the music business?" Loren nodded her head. She didn't want to talk about any of the other insecurities and confusion she was feeling, because that might make everything awkward between them. "Loren, I want to explain something to you. I am not some nice person who is just going out of his way to make a fan feel good. You need to know that no one is ever really nice just to be nice to other people; most of the time, especially in this business, people are nice because they want something from you. I am here, not only because I do genuinely think you are talented and I like hanging out with you, but also because I need an amazing opening act for my next tour. So, you have got to _stop_ judging yourself as not good enough, because you most definitely _are_.

"Trent McCall was an idiot for leaving you, and I am sorry that it happened. I am sorry that you had to grow up without a dad and always wonder what made him leave and if it was your fault. But, at the same time, I can't help but be thankful that it happened, because if it didn't, then you and I never would have met. It is in the same way that I am kind of thankful that my mom died. Without those two events happening, we might not have been there last Saturday; we might not have met, and none of this would have been happening. I think that if one good thing came from my mom's passing, it would be this. I would like to believe that in some way, she brought us together in a time when we needed each other the most. I can honestly say that I could count you as one of the most important people in my life now, and I am not going to keep letting you think so little of yourself."

Loren's jaw dropped open by his speech. It literally dropped open. She shook her head, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Not once in that speech did he say anything romantic, but Loren couldn't help but feel as though it was really sweet and romantic anyway. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again when she realized she didn't know what to say. She shook her head again before deciding on two words that said more than enough, but not enough. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Eddie extended his hand, and Loren went to shake it, but he stilled their hands before they could move. "Now, I want you to repeat after me, and then we will shake on it, okay?" She nodded her head, her brow furrowed. "I, Loren Tate, solemnly swear that I will stop beating myself up…" Eddie gave her one quick nod, indicating it was her turn to speak.

"I, Loren Tate, solemnly swear that I will stop beating myself up." She said.

"And, I will listen to the rock god love of my life, Eddie Duran," Eddie said, winking, which made her laugh aloud. She rolled her eyes.

"And, I will listen to the rock god love of my life, Eddie Duran," she repeated sarcastically.

"When he says that I am an amazing singer and songwriter and that I can make it in the music business."

"When he says that I am an amazing singer and songwriter and that I can make it in the music business."

"And, if I ever find myself feeling sad or angry or just need to talk to someone, I know that I can call him and he will be there for me." Loren locked eyes with Eddie for a moment, giving him a small smile as she repeated his words back to him. "Because he is my friend and he cares about me." She felt like she had to swallow her heart when she repeated those last few words to him.

"Because he is my friend and he cares about me." She whispered. Eddie gave her a half-smile and then began shaking their hands.

"Alright, we have shaken on it, so you have to follow what we settled on today, okay?" Loren nodded. "Good."

"Now, play me your song," Loren said after a moment, feeling emotionally drained and needing to hear something of his to feel better. What she didn't realize, though, was that the song he was about to sing for her would only make her feel even more confused about their relationship.

"Okay," Eddie grabbed his guitar. "I hope you like it." He started playing the guitar and began to sing.

_"You never know when you're gonna meet someone  
And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone  
You're just walking around, then suddenly  
Everything that you thought that you knew above love is gone  
You find out it's all been wrong_

_"And all my scars_  
_Don't seem to matter anymore_  
_Cause they lead me here to you_

_"I know it's gonna take some time_  
_I've got to admit_  
_That the thought has crossed my mind_  
_This might end up like it should_

_"And, I'm gonna say what I need to say_  
_And hope to God that it don't scare you away_  
_Don't want to be misunderstood_  
_But, I'm starting to believe that_  
_This could be the start of something good_

_"Everyone knows life has its ups and downs_  
_One day you're on top of world_  
_And one day you're the clown_

_"Well, I've been both enough to know_  
_That you don't wanna get in the way when its working out_  
_The way that it is right now_  
_You see my heart_  
_I wear it on my sleeve_  
_Cause I just can't hide it anymore_

_"I know it's gonna take some time_  
_I've got to admit_  
_That the thought has crossed my mind_  
_This might end up like it should_

_"And, I'm gonna say what I need to say_  
_And hope to God that it don't scare you away_  
_Don't want to be misunderstood_  
_But, I'm starting to believe that_  
_This could be the start_

_"Cause I don't know where its goin'_  
_There's a part of me that loves not knowin'_  
_Just don't let it end before we begin_

_"You never know when you're gonna meet someone_  
_And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone_

_"I know it's gonna take some time_  
_I've got to admit that the thought has crossed my mind_  
_This might end up like it should_

_"And, I'm gonna say what I need to say_  
_And hope to God that it don't scare you away_  
_Don't want to be misunderstood_

_"But, I'm starting to believe_  
_Oh, I'm starting to believe_  
_This could be the start of something good_  
_Yeah, the start of something good, yeah…"_

When he finished the song, Loren and Eddie couldn't seem to break eye contact. She didn't know what to say, because the only thing she could think was that there was something more than friendship here between them. She didn't want to let herself to think that, because he was with Chloe, and she shouldn't want someone else's boyfriend. Loren finally forced herself to break eye contact.

"It was beautiful." She said, smiling at him. He grinned, setting the guitar aside.

"Thanks. It just came to me, and it felt really good to write." Loren licked her lips, sucking in a quiet breath.

"Yeah, I am sure Chloe would love to hear it. It's about her, _right_?" She said pointedly. His eyes flew to hers; he stared at her for a moment.

"Yeah, it is about her…" Eddie said quietly. Loren nodded her head. It is so much easier for them to ignore whatever this weird chemistry was between them, because she wasn't his type, and she didn't even know if she had what it would take to be in his world. They would wake up tomorrow, and she would still be the same high school senior, and he would still be the famous rock star who was dating a beautiful model. This way, she wouldn't get hurt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Somebody**

**Chapter 9**

**A**_** Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Realize**_** by Colbie Caillat; **_**What I Wanted to Say**_** by Colbie Caillat**

**Author's Note: Holy crap! This chapter was just as intense for me. It jumps around a bit, so I am going to break the parts up. I hope you enjoy it. Also, I am sorry! =[**

* * *

Loren felt like the world was falling apart beneath her feet. She had followed him to one of the back dressing rooms of MK, wanting to thank him for everything that had happened that day. She also wanted to talk to him about last Sunday, because they hadn't had much time to talk since then. She realized then, she made a mistake to follow him; she had also made a mistake to let herself think for a second that something was there. She felt the tears burn in her eyes, and she didn't want to be caught in the club crying, so she rushed away from the dressing room, giving a small smile and wave to Kelly, Max, and Grace. "I will see you all tomorrow. Thanks for today," she said quickly as she practically ran out the door. She made it to hallway before the entrance of the club and took a shuddering breath. Loren pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to calm down. She needed to just get outside and into a cab; she needed to get home and to bury her face in her pillow and to cry.

"Hey, are you okay?" She glanced up, seeing a handsome guy that she recognized from a couple of TV shows and the movie that Eddie did a few years back. His name was Tyler, and she just overheard Eddie talking about him and Chloe. And he was talking to Jake about her, too. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath again.

"Yeah, I am fine…" She said a little breathlessly. "I just…it's been a long day, and I just need to get out of here." Loren gave him a fake smile, pushing past him and began to walk toward the exit of the building.

"You don't look fine." He said, following her.

"Thanks?" She laughed humorlessly.

"No, believe me, you are very attractive and look amazing in that dress, but what I meant is that you look upset." He said, laying a hand on her arm. "You look like you could use someone to talk to."

"I don't know…" She shook her head. "I think I am supposed to not trust you," Loren told him seriously. He frowned at her, confused. "You are Tyler Rorke, and I have heard a lot of not so nice things about you."

"Ahh, yeah, I am sure your mentor has been chewing your ear off about how much he hates me." Tyler rolled his eyes. "What is it this time? I am a toxic, no talent loser who blames everyone for all of his misfortunes?"

"He actually hasn't said anything to me, specifically." Loren didn't know what to believe, because the man that she had overheard Eddie saying harsh things about only a few minutes ago was standing before her and being so kind and nothing like he had been described as. "I overheard him…" She looked down, feeling sad as she thought about the other things that Eddie had said to Jake.

"What did he say?" Loren chewed on her bottom lip. Her stomach felt sour, and she felt the tears burn in her eyes again.

"Does it matter?" She shook her head. "I just need to get out of here." She whispered.

"How about a cup of tea?" Tyler asked her. Loren looked up at him, shocked. Most people said coffee, but he opened with tea. "What? I am not a coffee guy." Loren couldn't help smiling.

"I am not a coffee girl, so that is one thing we have in common, I guess." She studied his face for a moment. "I could use a mug of tea."

"Great. I know a tasty café that isn't too far from here. It's called _Aroma_." Loren laughed, making Tyler give her another look of confusion. "What?"

"I work there." She laughed. "I could probably get us a discount."

"Nice! One thing you should learn about me, Loren Tate, is that I am very cheap." Tyler joked, waving his hand in the direction of the exit. "After you."

"Thanks." Loren smiled at him, feeling a little better, even though her heart still felt like it was shattered inside of her chest. She stepped outside and was bombarded with paparazzi taking photos of her.

"Loren! Loren! Over here!" They kept shouting at her. "Great song tonight! Did you have fun!? Who are you leaving with!?" Loren put her head down, holding a hand in front of her face to block out the flashes. Tyler stepped out in front of her, turning his body so that his back was facing the paparazzi and blocking her.

"C'mon," he said, leading her away with a hand laid on her lower back, directing her to a nearby empty cab.

* * *

They were silent for a few moments, just staring at each other. There was a gust of wind, and Loren glanced up at the sky. It was getting darker and darker. "Did you check the weather channel today?" She asked slowly, carefully packing away her guitar in its case and putting the diary into her purse.

"No, why?" Eddie glanced up, seeing that there was a storm brewing. "Uh, oh." He laughed packing up his guitar. "I don't think I could make it to my car before it downpours." Eddie nodded down the hill. He jumped up and began balling up the blanket, wrapping the bag of trash up in the center of it. "Wish me luck." He laughed.

"Are you really afraid of a little rain?" Loren laughed as she unlocked the trunk of her car. She put her guitar and purse in it. "You can put your stuff in here and I could drive it down to your car." She laughed. He nodded his thanks to her as he dropped his stuff into her trunk. Just as Loren was shutting the trunk, it started raining, hard. She threw her head back, laughing as the rain began pelting her face. She stepped back from her car and made her way back to where they had been sitting only a few minutes before, spinning around in a circle with her arms stretched out and her head back, eyes closed. "I love the rain. Some of my favorite memories from when we were kids were when Mel and I would dance and play in the rain in our backyards. Hell, we still do it sometimes now." She stopped spinning, wiping some of the rain from her eyes. She was sure that she looked ridiculous, whatever mascara she had left from earlier was probably smeared all over her face. Eddie walked over to her, a big smile on his face. He held a hand out to her.

"Shall we dance, Miss Tate." Loren laughed, placing her hand in his, and he pulled her into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and his were wrapped around her waist, and they swayed in the rain. Loren couldn't help the laughing smile on her face. Her sweater was growing heavier and heavier from the rain, but she didn't dare look away from his face.

Eddie pulled one of hands away from her waist and reached up to brush some of the hair from her forehead. His fingertips stroked down the side of her face to her neck as he began to brush away some of the hair that was plastered there. Loren bit her lip, letting out a light breath as the goose bumps erupted from the shiver his touch. She watched as his eyes drifted from hers to her lips. His hand slid from the side of her neck to the back of it, pulling her closer to him. Her eyes fluttered shut as he closed the distance between them.

Loren felt the butterflies tumble in her stomach as his lips softly brushed against hers. Eddie's fingers of his left hand pressed into her lower back as his other hand slid into the underside of what was left of her braid, pulling her even closer. The soft kiss became more intense, more insistent. Loren tightened her hold around his neck, leaning up on her toes to get closer to his lips. Eddie's hand pulled out of her hair, and once again, his arm was wrapped around her waist, both hands pressing her body to his. Her mouth fell open when she felt his tongue swipe along her bottom lip.

The kiss was unlike any Loren had ever experience. Her ears felt like they were on fire, and surely her toes weren't curling just because she was wet and cold. Somehow, she found herself backing up until her back was pressed against the door to the backseat of her car on the passenger side. Using that as her support, Eddie moved his hands from her waist to her cheeks, holding her face close to his. Loren laid her right hand on top of his arm, just before the crook of his elbow, and slid it down until it was lying over top of his hand.

When air became a problem, Loren broke the kiss. Their eyes met, and for a second everything was perfect. Then, the realization of what they had just done hit her. He cheated. With her. She let out a breath, pressing a hand to her forehead. Eddie followed suit, blowing out a deep breath, but after a moment, he pulled her face back to his, kissing her once more. Loren couldn't keep her head straight. She knew she should stop the kiss, because it was only going to make everything more difficult, but she couldn't help herself. She let him keep kissing her, and she kissed back.

After a few more moments, Eddie broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against hers. They didn't say anything for a few moments, just stared into each other's eyes. The rain had began to let up, and Loren felt herself shiver in the breeze that was blowing. "You're cold." Eddie said after a moment, looking down at her soaked clothes. She was sure that her tank top was completely see through, and he could probably see her gray bra perfectly. She blushed, pressing herself into his chest so that her head was tucked under his chin.

"It is better like this." She whispered. Eddie wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her arms.

"I don't want you to get sick." He whispered, pulling away from her. She nodded her head. She moved to get in the driver's side of her car, pulling off the pink sweater and ringing out as much as she could before tossing it into the backseat. She and Eddie climbed into the car, and Loren drove down the hill some to where he had parked his car. They sat there for a moment, parked next to his car, the heat blasting to warm them up some. "Listen," Eddie began, and she waited for him to tell her that the kiss was a mistake. "I have a lot coming up this week in terms of interviews, sponsorship meetings, and meetings with the label, but you are going to be at the video shoot next Saturday, right?"

"Yeah," she was shocked. Surely, he was going to say something about the kiss and how it shouldn't have happened. "Of course; where is it?" She asked, deciding for the moment not to bring up the kiss and what it meant until he did.

"It's at MK, my dad's club. It'll be great to have you see everything happen, you know. How boring and awful these shoots can be." He laughed, running a hand through his wet hair.

"Oh, I'm sure they aren't that bad!" Loren smiled. "I will be there."

"Yeah, and I just might have to give you a small part in it."

"What?" Loren asked, shocked.

"Yeah, the story behind the video is that I am in the club, and there are all of these beautiful women around me. So, it is only fitting that I make sure I have as many of them surrounding me as I can." Loren rolled her eyes, biting her bottom lip. "Gahh! You got to stop doing that." Eddie laughed, leaning over and kissing her once more. Loren felt like she had died and gone to Heaven.

"Sorry," she whispered when he broke the kiss. "I will try to refrain…" She giggled.

"I don't know I am relieved or disappointed." Eddie told her seriously, and Loren blushed.

"So, yeah, we begin rehearsal at eight, so you better be there, Lore Tate." She nodded her head. Eddie kissed her quickly one last time before climbing out of her car. Loren pushed the button to open the trunk so that he could grab his stuff from inside of it. He closed it and made his way to his car, putting it in the backseat. He waved at her before climbing into the driver's seat. Loren waved back and pulled away, driving toward her home. She couldn't believe that the afternoon had happened like that.

When Loren arrived home, she waved to her mom, telling her that she needed to get changed and she would be back out for dinner in an hour. Loren quickly pulled off of her wet clothes, ringing out each article in the bathtub before hanging them over the railing to dry for a bit before she tossed them into the wash. She dressed into her sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt that had BROWN written across the bust. She sat down at her desk and began writing in her diary about that day. She couldn't believe that it happened. It was still so shocking to her. Soon, her diary entry turned into lyrics, as it always had since she met Eddie nine days ago. Loren grabbed her guitar and began to work on her new song.

_"Take time to realize  
That your warmth is  
Crashing down on in  
Take time to realize  
That I am on your side  
Didn't I…didn't I tell you?_

_"But I can't spell it out for you_  
_No, it's never gonna be that simple_  
_No, I can't spell it out for you_

_"If you just realize what I just realized_  
_Then, we'd be perfect for each other_  
_And will never find another_  
_Just realize what I just realized_  
_We'd never have to wonder if_  
_We missed out on each other now_

_"Take time to realize_  
_Oh-oh, I'm on your side_  
_Didn't I…didn't I tell you?_  
_Take time to realize_

_Oh-oh, I'm on your side_

_Oh-oo-oh_

_"But, I can't spell it out for you_  
_No, it's never gonna be that simple_  
_No, I can't spell it out for you_

_"If you just realize what I just realized_  
_Then, we'd be perfect for each other_  
_And we'll never find another_  
_Just realize what I just realized_  
_We'd never have to wonder if_  
_We missed out on each other, but_

_"It's not the same_  
_No, it's never the same_  
_If you don't feel it, too_  
_If you meet me half way_  
_If you would meet me half way_  
_It could be the same for you_

_"If you just realize what I just realized_  
_Then we'd be perfect for each other_  
_And, we'll never find another_  
_Just realize what I just realized_  
_We'd never have to wonder_

_If we missed out on each other now  
Missed out on each other now  
Missed out on each other now_

_Missed out on each other now_

_"Realize_  
_Realize_  
_Realize_

_Realize_

_Oh, oh._" She took a deep breath and smiled to herself as she pressed her fingers to her lips.

* * *

Loren and Tyler stepped through the doors of _Aroma_. She waved at her coworkers, Lily, Emily, and Summer, behind the counter. "Hey, guys!" She grinned as she and Tyler leaned against it.

"Oh, my God!" Summer said quickly. "Loren, how was the video shoot today?" She squealed, grabbing Loren's hands. "Did you have fun?!"

"Yes, it was great." Loren told her, but that wasn't really the truth. It was great in the beginning, but things were slightly awkward for her and Eddie, considering they hadn't seen each other since the make out session on Sunday afternoon. Then, Chloe showed up, which only made everything more awkward. "I met with some of the people from Eddie's label, and they said that they loved it. They wanted me to sing a song live for the entire club tonight." Loren grimaced.

"Oh, my God!" Summer, Lily, and Emily said at the same time. "You sang! THAT IS INSANE!" Lily said.

"I am just excited that I can be one of the people that gets interviewed as one of the people that knew Loren Tate before she was famous." Emily laughed, knocking some of her long blond hair over her shoulder. "I am that special." She joked.

"Of course! And, when I get nice and famous, I promise to come back here and be a horrible customer and refuse to leave you a tip when I am done." Loren laughed, and Lily nodded her head.

"It really is the only way to do it." The four girls laughed, until Summer laid her eyes on Tyler.

"You. I know you…" She narrowed her eyes at him before smiling. "You are on that crime show I love! Can I have your autograph!?" She grabbed the pad of paper she took orders on and thrust it at him.

"Sure," Tyler smiled, quickly scribbling his name with the black permanent maker that they kept at the counter to write the customers' names on to-go orders. Summer swooned, tearing off the paper and shoving it into her pocket.

"Thanks!" Tyler and Loren ordered their drinks and made their way to sit down at an empty table away from the rest of the customers.

"They are sweet girls." Tyler smiled, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. "Good friends of yours?"

"Yeah, they are amazing. My best friend, Mel, is out of their league in the craziness department, though." Loren laughed.

"So, the shoot today wasn't that great, was it?" Tyler said after Summer laid their teas down on the table and flashed them a huge smile as she hurried away.

"It wasn't that bad at all, just awkward, because Chloe showed up." Loren settled on telling him that.

"Yeah, she isn't a fan of yours, I am sure." Tyler said, sipping his drink. "You are the competition, and Chloe never liked competition. She always fought unfairly."

"It sounds like you know her well." Loren said, shocked as she blew across her mug to cool the tea down some.

"Yeah, I do." Tyler shrugged, tearing a strip off of his napkin. He proceeded to tear that strip into tiny pieces as he took a moment before speaking again. "What Eddie probably failed to mention to you was that Chloe and I used to date in high school. We both are from Fresno, and I was the older guy who she thought was hot, and she was the pretty blond beauty queen who was a complete bitch. You know, the usual." He laughed, but Loren didn't hear any humor in it. "I was totally in love with her, and one day, she decided she didn't want to be a nobody beauty queen from Fresno, she wanted to be an actress. So, she dumped me and moved to L.A.

"She changed her name, dyed her hair even blonder, lost about twenty pounds and started modeling while she searched out acting jobs. I followed her, thinking I could win her back by being an actor and taking care of her for the rest of her life." Tyler shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. "Guess that was stupid, because the second she found out that I got cast in the movie that Eddie was in, she flirted with me until I got her on as an extra, and things went from there. Two years have gone by, and she is with Eddie, and I am nothing but 'Tyler Who?'"

"Oh, Tyler, I am so sorry to hear that." Loren frowned. He was obviously hurting over his breakup with Chloe and seeing her with Eddie every day all over the tabloids.

"Yeah, my heart really isn't in to acting, and I kept thinking that maybe if I made enough money, she would come back to me, but I think I have finally realized that it is a stupid idea." Loren reached out to lay a hand over his.

"It is her loss, you know." She told him, giving him a sad smile. "You seem like a great guy, despite what Eddie says about you. Why does he not like you?"

"Well, I haven't been too quiet about my past with Chloe at all, and he hates it. Plus, I have said some pretty messed up things to him, and I am sure that Chloe has said some even worse things about me." Tyler rolled his eyes. Loren nodded her head; of that she was sure.

"Yeah, I am pretty sure that is the case." Loren said quietly. "Do you still love her?"

"I've spent the last two years chasing after her and trying to get her back, but I haven't honestly taken the time to figure it out, you know. Two years is a long time to be apart, and I feel like I have changed a lot over the last two years. I like to believe that in trying to make myself the perfect guy who could take care of her that I have grown up a lot." Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "But, when I think about waking up tomorrow and not fighting to get her back, it feels like I am going to explode, you know. It has been my sole purpose to get her back, and to stop doing that—what would I do then?"

"Find someone else?" Loren suggested as she took a sip of her tea. "I can understand that feeling though. My situation isn't exactly the same as yours, but it is close enough that I can appreciate how confusing it is. My boyfriend and I were together for two and a half years, and then his parents got divorced and he moved away to live with his dad. We tried to stick it out, but it was too hard. We broke up in January of last year, and for eight months, we hardly spoke. Then, on the first day of school this year, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and there he was. I felt obligated to not be hurt by the fact that he chose to leave eight months prior, and now I was feeling obligated to jump back into the relationship with him. But, eight months is a long time, especially in high school; I felt so different and pressured to just force myself back into the mold of who I used to be." Loren paused again, giving Tyler a small smile. "But the idea of not being with him was scary and so heartbreaking. When we finally decided that it wasn't right for us to get back together, I felt like my heart was being torn apart, because he wouldn't be there. At least not in the same way that he had been there before," she told him. "It was hard to let it go, and I think I will always love him, but it is different now. A different kind of love."

"Yeah," Tyler nodded his head. "Sounds like you found someone else." He took a sip of his tea. "You and I have a lot more in common than you realize, Loren. We are both in love with people who are with someone else." Her eyes flew up to meet his. "Chloe and Eddie aren't going to break up, Loren."

* * *

Loren arrived at the club on Saturday morning about ten minutes early. She was so excited to see Eddie, because they hadn't had much time to talk over the course of the week. The occasional tweet and text weren't enough for her, especially not after their kiss. She didn't tell anyone about the kiss, because she didn't want it to somehow get out to the media. She didn't see anything about a Chloed breakup in the tabloids, but maybe they were trying to keep it quiet for awhile before they made an announcement. The alternative (that there was no breakup) was too difficult for her to even consider.

Loren walked through the doors alone, and a smile instantly flew to her face when she saw Eddie talking to Jake and Kelly. She waved to them. Eddie smiled at her briefly before disappearing into the back. Loren tried not to let her frown show as she made her way over to Jake and Kelly. "Hey, guys."

"Loren! You look so cute!" Kelly said, pulling her into a tight hug. Loren glanced down at her outfit. She didn't think she looked that different. She was dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, her black boots, and a black tank top. She paired it with chunky gold bracelets and a gold necklace that Mel had bought her for her seventeenth birthday.

"Thanks." Loren told her, hugging Kelly back. "Hey, Jake." She said, pulling out of the hug to give him a half-side-hug for a few seconds.

"Loren, I am so glad that you are here. I just wanted to talk to you about today. Let me introduce you to the director of the video." He pulled Loren away from Kelly, and when Loren glanced back at her, she gave Loren a thumbs up for encouragement. After Loren met the director, everyone explained to her that Eddie was going to be moving through the crowds of women in the club, dancing with each of them, before making his way to the stage. Towards the end of the video, Loren was going to fight her way to the front of the crowd and reach out her hand. Eddie was going to take her hand and then pull her out of the crowd and on the stage, and it was there that the music video was going to end. It sounded like a combination of the reality of what happened at the concert in the _Avalon_ and her fantasy of where holding his hand could have led.

"That sounds great," she said, smiling. "I am totally fine with just sitting in the background or being an extra in the crowd. I am so honored that you guys even wanted me here today." She glanced around, looking for Eddie. "So, where is the superstar?" She asked casually.

"In the back, preparing himself or something." Jake laughed, rolling his eyes. "He is such a diva." He joked, making everyone laugh. Loren nodded her head, trying to keep her thoughts from going anywhere negative. After that beautiful afternoon they had spent together, she wasn't going to let herself get disappointed.

Just before they started rehearsing, Eddie came out, giving her a quick hello before making his way to where he was starting. Loren tried to ignore the slight, chalking it up to the fact that he was stressed about the shoot. They rehearsed it five times. Each time, Eddie would immediately say he wanted to run it again as soon as he had finished pulling Loren up onto the makeshift stage and into his arms, not even giving her a moment to talk to him. The fifth time, she requested a break to get a drink, pulling away from him as soon as she could. She felt his eyes on her as she walked over to the craft table, grabbing a water bottle. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Eddie and his father had started talking.

"This is looking great!" Kelly told her as she walked up beside of Loren. "So, Daniel from the label is here, and he was talking to Jake about what they said." Loren turned to Kelly, nervously squeezing the water bottle.

"And?"

"Well, they liked your songs," Kelly began. "A lot…" She trailed off, giving Loren a serious face, and Loren felt the disappointment begin to slam her. "They want you to perform a song tonight live!" Kelly said excitedly. Loren's jaw dropped open; they wanted what?

"What?"

"Yeah, they loved your demo, and they wanted to check you out to see if you have the stage presence that it would take to suck in an audience, so Jake is asking Max if you could stick around tonight and to sing a song." Loren took a deep breath, feeling extremely nervous all of a sudden.

"Pop! I don't want to hear what you think it means!" Eddie said loudly. "I am busy right now. Just leave me alone." Loren and Kelly glanced over at them, and Eddie stormed away from his father, something crumpled up in his hands. He disappeared into one of the back dressing rooms, and Max walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink, running a hand over his face.

"I wonder what that was about," Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyways, we are also bringing in some press so that we can get some interviews with you after we officially announce that you are going to be opening for Eddie."

"Wait! It's official?" Loren asked, feeling like her eyes were huge.

"Well, I mean, after they see you perform tonight, it will be officially, because you are going to be amazing. So, I was thinking that you could sing _Mars_, because it was the song that got Eddie hooked, and that was the song that started to get you a small fan base on twitter." Kelly was talking, but honestly, Loren could barely hear her. The blood was rushing to her ears, and she felt light-headed. Black spots began blocking her vision, and she felt like she was going to faint.

"I…uh…I think I need to sit down." Loren said quickly, practically running to one of the benches nearby. She dropped on to it and began chugging the water in her hands.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked her.

"It all just kind of it hit me right now, you know. Like there will be a lot of people watching me, and it is just a small club. I don't know if I could do what Eddie does! He plays monstrous arenas, and I am feeling like I am going to throw up when I even think about playing in front of a small crowd of people tonight!" Loren heard her voice begin to get higher. "Oh, God." She took a couple of deep breaths, closing her eyes and trying to calm down.

"Loren, honey…" Kelly took one of her hands, squeezing it gently. "You are going to do great."

Eddie walked out of the back, looking slightly perturbed. He took one look at Loren's white face and came rushing over to her, deciding now would be the perfect time to finally start talking to her. Loren felt a huge headache coming on. "What's wrong?" He asked her, concerned, resting a hand on her knee. Loren tried to ignore the warmth of it and how that warmth seemed to flow through her body, causing her to shiver. "She's shaking. Are you sick?" He asked.

"I think she has stage fright. I just told her that Daniel and the label want her to perform a song tonight here." Kelly told him, running a hand up and down Loren's arm.

"Really?" Eddie asked, shocked. Loren glanced at him and realized that he didn't know anything about it. "You are going to do fine." He told her seriously, looking into her eyes. "You did great in the studio, so you will do great here."

"Exactly, and all of those songs that you recorded and posted on twitter were so good!" Kelly told her, giving her an encouraging smile. Loren looked between the two of them.

"The most people I have sang in front of ever was everyone who was at the recording studio!" Loren said, pressing her hand to her forehead. "I don't know if I am cut out for this."

"Of course you are!" Kelly and Eddie said at the same time. Loren bit her lip, feeling unsure. She felt Eddie dig his fingernails into her knee slightly, and then she remembered that when she did that, he wanted to kiss her. She released her bottom lip, not sure what was going on between them and not wanting to make it more complicated until she was sure about everything.

"Look, Loren, Eddie, Jake, and I have been fighting hard to get you this shot, because we believe in you and your music." Kelly told her. "You are going to do okay."

"And, I will be there with you. What are you going to play? _Mars_? I could play guitar."

"That would be great, Eddie, but we actually hired Wyatt and his band from the studio for the night, because they know the music. You can join in, if Loren doesn't want to play while she sings." Kelly said. Eddie's brow furrowed for a moment at the mention of Wyatt, and Loren wondered if he was still feeling slightly frustrated over Wyatt's flirty behavior at the studio.

"I think I would feel really comfortable if Eddie played." She said, smiling at him briefly before turning her attention on Kelly. "If it wasn't for him, none of this would be happening."

"Alright, everyone! Let's try shooting!" The director called out to them. Loren and Eddie made their way to their starting spots. The song began playing, and they began to shoot the video.

When they got to the end of the video, and Eddie pulled Loren up onto the stage and into his arms, they smiled at each other, eyes locked.

"What the hell is going on?!" A female voice screeched from the side of the stage.

"Cut!" The director shouted, groaning. Loren and Eddie turned and found themselves staring at a fuming Chloe Carter.

"Hey, Chlo," Eddie said, pulling away from Loren and hopping of the stage. "I am so glad that you are back." He said, pressing a quick kiss on her lips and pulling her into a hug. Loren turned away, trying to keep her from crying. She finally got her answer over whether or not they broke up.

* * *

Loren stared at Tyler. "I am not in love with Eddie." She scoffed, taking a sip of the tea.

"Of course you are." He rolled his eyes. "You are in love with him, and today you finally realized that he is too wrapped up in his relationship with Chloe." Tyler reached out and took Loren's hand in his. "So, what happened? Did he make you feel like you meant more to him? He probably learned that from Chloe." Tyler said dejectedly.

"I am not in love with Eddie; nothing happened with Eddie," she said with as much conviction as she could. Her heart wouldn't be able to take it if she admitted aloud to Tyler, or anyone, that she had thought for a second their kiss meant something. "Nothing ever will."

"Yeah, he is such a jackass, you know. You are a really great girl, and I have only known you for like a half an hour," Tyler laughed. "He is an idiot to not fall for you. And, I am not even saying that because I want to be with Chloe!" Loren gave him a sad smile.

"So, I overheard that you kissed her earlier today." Loren told him. Tyler chewed on his thumb nail, nodding, staring past Loren as if he didn't see her.

"How do you know?" He asked her.

"Max doesn't like Chloe anymore than I do." Loren laughed humorlessly. "He hired a private investigator and he got a picture you two kissing this morning at her condo."

"Right, awesome…I guess I lucked out then when I ran into you before I had a chance to go into the club and get the shit beat out of me by Eddie." He gave her a wry smile. "Thanks for that."

"Yeah, well, in his opinion, he would be doing her a service based on what she told him."

"Oh, I am sure I am going to love hearing that. So, tell me what the manipulative Chloe Carter told him that happened during that kiss." Loren bit her lip, studying him.

"I would rather hear what really happened this morning first." Tyler sighed, taking another sip of his tea.

"I knew that she got back to town today, so I stopped by her place. I did my usual routine. I told her that I loved her and that I wanted to be with her. She told me that I was a loser and wasn't good enough. She said that she had Eddie and that she loved him. I said that she loved what he could do for her, but that she really loved me. So, I kissed her." Tyler rubbed a hand over his face. "I thought she kissed back, and she did for a few minutes, but then she forced me away and slammed the door in my face."

"Wow, Tyler!" Loren said, frowning at how cold Chloe was. Her heart went out to him. "I am so sorry."

"It's isn't your fault! I am sure when you and that ex of yours decided not to get back together, you didn't treat him like dirt." Loren shook her head. "That is because you are a good, kind person, and for that reason, you are way out of Chloe Carter's league." Tyler told her, grabbing both of their mugs. "Now, would you like another tea? When I get back, you can tell me what the princess said happened."

* * *

Eddie got Chloe calmed down enough to tell her what the video was all about so that they could film it a few more times in a variety of different angles so that they could piece it all together. Loren felt more and more uncomfortable each time Eddie pulled her up onto the stage with him, because if looks could kill, Chloe would have obliterated her by now. Finally, they stated that shooting was done for the day and that everyone was due back the next day at noon to do some final shots.

Loren practically ran away from Eddie to the bathroom, not wanting to see him and Chloe being a couple. Last week she had been so sure that Eddie was going to end things with Chloe and be with her, if that kiss had been any indication of his feelings for her, but now she knew that wasn't the case. Cameron was right; her mom was right. She felt like a fool.

She exited the bathroom to see that Eddie and Chloe had disappeared. The set for the music video was being deconstructed and the club staff was beginning to set up for the night. A blond woman was behind the bar with Max, setting up, and Loren walked over to sit down. "You look like you could use a drink, kid." She laughed, placing an empty glass in front of Loren. "What'll it be?"

"Unsweetened iced tea, please, with lemon." The woman nodded, filling up the glass. Max walked out from behind the bar and sat down next to Loren.

"You need an ear?" He asked her. Loren shook her head. She couldn't believe that she was sitting in MK with _the_ Max Duran; her mom would be freaking out right now if she were around.

"No, I am just waiting for the whole interview stuff to start." She rolled her eyes. "It has been a long day, and I don't think Chloe was too pleased that I was around."

"Yeah, well, if I had anything to do with it, she wouldn't be around." Max told her, hitting his shot glass against her glass of tea. "She isn't good for my son, but does he listen to me? Nope." He rolled his eyes, knocking back the shot. "I guess kids never listen to their parents. Do you listen to your parents, Loren?" Max asked her, his eyes already slightly glazed. She wondered what drink he was on.

"My mom is literally one of my best friends, so it isn't too hard to listen to what she has to say." Loren told him seriously. She knew that she was lucky to be so close to her mom, but she figured that their relationship had to be that strong because there was only the two of them.

"What about your dad? Does he get any say in things?" Loren shook her head.

"It is just me and my mom. No dad."

"Loren! Perfect! We need to get you into something for your song tonight." Kelly came running over to her. "I have got a couple of choices ready to go for you to try on in the back." Loren smiled at Max and the blond woman behind the counter.

"I will see you later, Max. Thanks for the tea, um…"

"Grace," the blond told her.

"Grace." Loren gave her a smile before following Kelly into the back. She overheard Eddie and Chloe talking in one of the dressing rooms as she walked by.

"Chloe, I can't deal with this right now." Eddie said, and he sounded really upset and frustrated. Loren frowned, wishing that she knew what was going on with him and her. Hell, wishing she knew what was going with him and Chloe.

"Come on, Eddie. Please, can we just go? I am really upset right now, and I just want to go back to your place and be together. I haven't seen you in over a week, and I really just need my boyfriend." Chloe was pleading, but it came out more as a spoiled whine to Loren.

"I promised Loren that I would play tonight. I am not going back on the promise." Eddie said sternly.

"Yes, you can! Just tell her you aren't feeling well, and she would understand!" Loren shook her head and walked past Kelly into the dressing room that she was waiting by.

"In about ten minutes, he is going to knock on the door and tell me that he can't play tonight, so can you wait by the door and when he knocks, tell him I don't want him to play."

"Loren," Kelly began, frowning. "He might not…maybe he will come by to tell you good luck or something."

"He is going to come to say that he can't play, Kelly. You and I both know that." Loren looked at the outfits hanging on the clothing wrack. "I don't know if I am comfortable with any of these." She turned back to Kelly, chewing on her bottom lip. "I am scared enough without adding to it with being uncomfortable with what I am wearing."

"Oh, Loren, you really have great legs and a nice butt, and we just want to show that off a little."

"These dresses are so short. I mean, what is wrong with my jeans? They are skinny jeans and they make my butt look great. I could change my shoes and wear nice shirt, but I just would feel better in these jeans." Kelly sighed.

"Okay, take the boots off and let me see what I am working with." Loren smiled, sitting down to pull her boots off. She stood before Kelly, showing off her legs and butt in her jeans. "Alright, they aren't that bad." She walked over to the wrack of clothes and began shifting through them. She pulled out a leather tube top that would essentially cover just Loren's boobs.

"No…" Loren grimaced. Kelly rolled her eyes. "What? I don't wear leather! Think of the poor cows, Kelly." Loren said quickly, pouting. Kelly turned back to the wrack and resumed looking. She pulled out a black shirt that was so thin that you could practically see through it. She held it up, and Loren decided that it wasn't much better than the tube top, because people would be seeing her bra under it. "Okay, can I look through the clothes, please?" Loren stepped forward to look at the clothes.

Even though she wasn't that much of a fan of the dresses, she decided to settle for a black cocktail dress that would fall mid-thigh. It was the longest dress available and the least revealing. It had black lace-cap shoulders and a lace back. The neckline was sweetheart cut, so it would accentuate her breasts without going too low. She thought that it wouldn't be that bad to wear, even if she had to go without her bra. "Well, I guess it is a good thing that I shaved my legs today," she joked.

"That will look amazing on you, Loren! Let me get out of here while you change. Try these hot gold pumps with it. It will match your jewelry." Kelly handed her the shoes. "Then, we just need to make your makeup darker for the stage, especially around your eyes. Oh, and maybe straighten your hair again."

"Okay, go." Loren said, pushing Kelly out the door. She quickly pulled her clothes off, except for her underwear. She pulled the dress on over her head, adjusting it so that it went as low as it could on her legs without showing off too much of her boobs. She realized that you could see her the edges of her underwear under the dress. She pulled the door to the dressing room to find Eddie and Kelly talking. "Um, hi…" She said blushing.

"Wow!" Kelly said, clapping her hands. "You look amazing."

"Um, thank you." She hated to ask for a thong in front of Eddie.

"Yeah, you look outstanding." He said, not being able to take his eyes off of her. She blushed again, running a hand through her hair.

"Thanks," she paused. "So, are you here to tell me that you are sick and can't play the guitar for me?" She asked him straight out. Eddie frowned, looking at his feet. "You know what, I totally get it." She rolled her eyes. "Chloe needs you, so you should go."

"Loren…" He trailed off. She shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." She looked to Kelly. "Does this wardrobe come with thongs, because this dress is too tight for me to wear boy-shorts?" Loren got over being embarrassed in front of him quickly, because she actually kind of pissed off.

"Um, let me check." Kelly slipped into the room, turning to look at Loren's butt on the way. "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. Your butt looks great, though. So, do your legs." Loren glanced over her shoulder.

"Thanks. I think so, too."

"Loren," Eddie got her attention again, and she shook her head.

"I already said it is no big deal."

"No, you are going to hear it. I promised that I was going play for you, so I will stick around to play for you." Loren took a deep breath.

"As long as you won't get in trouble with your girlfriend," she said as she stepped back and shut the door. Kelly held a thong up in front of her.

"Success!" Loren sighed, grabbing the underwear from Kelly and waiting as she left the dressing room before pulling them on.

The song went pretty smoothly. Loren just wanted to get everything over with, so she sang _Mars_ as good as she could. The audience seemed to love her song, so they kept asking for more. Wyatt and the guys already knew two of her songs, so it was up to her do decide which one of them she wanted to do. She knew that the Lily Park was in the back filming, so she decided to go with _Breathe_ for Cameron's sake. They sang the encore song, and as soon as it was done, she rushed off the stage.

"Loren, guess what!" Kelly said excitedly when Loren got backstage. "The label guys loved you! Just like we knew they would! They want to sign you!" Loren felt like she might pass out again. "You can open for Eddie!"

"Wow…" That was all she could say. She leaned against the wall, letting it support her. "Are you serious?" Suddenly, the idea of being Eddie Duran's opening act wasn't sounding all that appealing. She didn't know where she stood with him. It was all happening so fast, and she just needed a moment.

"Aren't you excited!?" Loren nodded her head, just to appease Kelly. "Come on! Jake is casually dropping the news to Lily Park, so we are going to interview with her and then you are done. You look exhausted."

"It has been a really long day," Loren agreed. She pushed off of the wall and straightened her dress. "Alright, let's get this done."

The interview started out well with Lily. She asked all of the right questions, like how did Loren meet Eddie, what was she thinking when she saw that her lyrics had been tweeted, how did it feel to be up on the stage? Loren answered all of the questions honestly, feeling only a little flustered when Lily asked about who the songs were written for.

"Is it true that _Breathe_, the second song you sang tonight, was for a boyfriend you recently broke up?" Loren took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "Is _Mars_ about the same boy?"

"Yes, I wrote _Breathe_ for my ex-boyfriend. He and I had actually broken up long before that because he had moved away, but when he moved back to town, we considered getting back together. However, we both decided that we were better off as friends, because we both had changed a lot in the time we spent apart. So, I wrote that song as a way to show him how much I loved him and cared about him, as if to say that even though it is over, I am still going to miss being with him." She licked her bottom lip. "As for _Mars_, I wrote it about someone else entirely. Someone who has not been a part of my life for a very long time." She left the story at that, and when Lily tried to prod further, Loren set her jaw and shook her head. "That is all I really have to say about it."

"Okay!" Lily said, obviously annoyed that Loren wasn't spilling about whom the song was written about. "So, you and Eddie seem to really be getting close. There are rumors going around that you two might be more than friends. What do you have to say about that?" Loren's jaw dropped open. She quickly closed it, then opened it, and then closed it again. She gave Lily an uncomfortable smile, running her hand through her hair again.

"Those rumors are false." Loren said as calmly as she could. "There is nothing going on between Eddie and I. As far as I can tell, he and Chloe are as happy as they have always been." She wasn't lying when she said that. She did think that Eddie was as equally unhappy in his relationship with Chloe now as he had been before he had kissed her. "Eddie has been kind enough to support me and my future career in this business, and for that I am grateful." She smiled at Lily.

Lily smiled back, but she was obviously disappointed that she didn't get an embarrassing fan girl moment from Loren; she had been hoping that Loren would swoon and say how much she was crushing on Eddie and wished that were true, but Loren wasn't stupid. She knew that Lily was like a shark in the water, the first sign of blood, she would tear everything apart. The interview ended there, and Loren rushed back to her dressing room to change into her clothes. She hung the dress back up on its hanger and stuffed her old underwear into her purse. She figured that she didn't need to leave someone to deal with the thong that she had worn. The dress was one thing, but used underwear was another.

Loren made sure she had everything of hers before grabbing her purse and leaving the dressing room. She was walking past the dressing room Eddie and Chloe had been in earlier when she overheard him talking.

"Jake, I really don't know what to do."

"What are you talking about, Eduardo?"

"I think I made a mistake…with Loren." Loren froze next to the door, not even daring to breathe.

"What do you mean? They loved her tonight, Ed. She was great on stage. She really is talented, and she could go places."

"No, not about her music; I know that she is going to be a big star, but I did something stupid."

"Oh, no, Eddie. Please tell me you aren't about to say what I think you are implying." Loren felt her hands begin to shake.

"We were hanging out, playing some music. It was great, and we had fun. And, I kissed her." Her eyes slipped shut, because she heard how upset he was.

"You kissed her? Like kissed her how? What about Chloe?"

"I mean, I really kissed her, like…_kissed_ her." She pressed a hand to her mouth, holding back a sob, a groan, a squeak, something. "It was really an amazing kiss, and I didn't want to stop kissing her, Jake. She is an amazing girl, and she inspires me. I have written all of this new music since I have met her; I was feeling so blocked before, but now I can't stop writing since we have been getting closer." Eddie paused, and she heard Jake groan. "I just don't know what I want, you know. I don't want to regret kissing her, but I think I might have made a mistake by kissing her." Loren felt like she was going to throw up.

"Eddie, of course you made a mistake! You shouldn't have kissed her! Do you know how complicated this is going to make everything? Not only do you have a girlfriend, but you also have to think about the ramifications that are going to come from this in terms of the tour. You know, the fact that you were the one pushing for her to be your opening act!"

"I know! I messed up. But, I couldn't help it, Jake. It was so perfect."

"I don't care, Ed! Yeah, you messed up. So, you need to figure this shit out now."

"I know. I have been thinking about it all week, and when I saw her today, I felt guilty for avoiding her while I was trying to figure things out. I mean, I just wish I knew what was going on in her head, you know, but at the same time, I am too much of a chicken to even talk to her about it, because I am feeling so confused." Loren knew that he had been avoiding her! She felt her eyes burn from the tears that wanted to spill. "And, things with Chloe have been rocky lately, especially since I met Loren." He paused. "My dad showed me this." There was a rustling noise and then Loren heard a whistle, likely form Jake.

"Is that Chloe? And Tyler Rorke?" Jake asked, shocked.

"Yeah. My dad is being a real jackass right now. Since he has been complaining that I won't listen to him and his concerns about my relationship with Chloe, he decided to hire a private investigator to follow her around. He caught them kissing _this morning_ outside of her condo. I asked Chloe about it, and she said that Tyler has been stalking her lately and that she pushed him away and slammed the door in the face. She said that she is scared, because she thought he was following her. She said that he is obsessed with her and won't leave her alone." Eddie groaned. Loren looked at her hands. They were shaking. She felt sick, and all she wanted to do was run away, but she couldn't. She needed to hear what he had to say.

"So, do you believe her?" Jake asked, and Loren held her breath.

"Yeah, I think I do. I mean, I love Chloe. I have been with her for two years now. She was there for me after my mom died, and I just need her in my life. Besides, why would she lie about him stalking her and being obsessed with her?"

"It sounds to me like you made your choice. You need to set things right with Loren and do it fast before things get awkward. The label is expecting her to be your opening act."

"I know." Loren felt like she couldn't breathe. So that was it. He chose Chloe over her. She had to get out of there. She couldn't be here anymore.

* * *

"I can't believe that she told him I was stalking her. That is so screwed up." Tyler said, smacking his hand on the table. "I am so sick of her bullshit, you know?" Loren was lost in her own world, because thinking about what Eddie had said about Chloe made her think about what he had said about her.

"Yeah, I can understand that." Loren took another sip of the tea Tyler had just gotten for her.

"What did he do to you?" Tyler asked. She shook her head. "Come on. You can tell me."

"I thought that there might be something there," Loren whispered. "I thought that he might actually be interested in me, but I was wrong."

"Oh, Loren, I am so sorry." Tyler laid his hand on hers. She gave him a sad smile and shrugged. "You know what? We don't need them. Let's give them up." Loren frowned.

"I can't exactly do that. I am getting signed to his label now, and I am going to be his opening act for next year's tour. I am stuck with him." She wiped at the lone tear that slipped out of her eye.

"Well, fine. Stick to the business stuff, and whenever you feel upset, you can call me." Loren chewed on her bottom lip.

"I don't know." Her phone began ringing. The caller id showed that it was Eddie. "Shit." She felt the tears sting in her eyes again. "This is the call where he apologizes for everything and tells me that he made a mistake and that loves Chloe."

"Don't answer it." Tyler told her, batting her hand away from the phone. "You are only going to get more upset."

"But, why put it off? It is coming, and I can't keep avoiding his calls. I might as well just get it over with." She grabbed her phone and accepted the call, placing it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Loren, hi…" She closed her eyes. "It's Eddie Duran, you know…the one from Brit. Lit.?" he joked, referencing a previous joke between them.

"Right, the one who always quotes T.S. Eliot," she said carefully, trying to keep her voice even.

"So, listen, I really need to talk to you about what happened today…and before." Loren didn't even realize she was crying until she felt Tyler wipe at her cheek with his thumb. He was frowning.

"No need to explain, Eddie." She said carefully, wiping at her other cheek with her free hand. "Let's chalk it up to getting caught up in the moment and leave it at that. No big deal."

"Right…no big deal." Eddie said after a few moments of silence.

"Listen, I got to go. I am out with a friend, and he is headed back to the table with our food." She started. Tyler grinned, winking.

"Hey, Loren, you wanted pickles on your burger, right?" He said loudly enough so that Eddie could hear him. Loren glared at him.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Oh…um…wait? Is that Tyler? Tyler Rorke?" Loren's eyebrows shot up, because Eddie sounded pissed. She didn't know if it was because he was mad at Tyler for the kiss he shared with Chloe that morning or because he was jealous that she had moved on, especially to someone he hated.

"Yeah, it is. Did you want me to say hi? We are hanging out at _Aroma_, so you are more than welcome to join us if you want. Tyler was telling me all about high school."

"Yeah, I was in the middle of talking about the time I starred as Danny Zuko in my school's rendition of _Grease_. You are more than welcome to come hear the end of it, Eddie. I promise I will wait until you get here." Tyler called out.

"No, thanks, Loren. I appreciate the offer, but I am gonna go. You have fun." Eddie hung up the phone without even saying goodbye. Loren stared at the phone for a moment.

"Well, that sucked."

"I am sorry, Loren."

"Listen, I need to get home. I am really exhausted, and I have a ton of homework to get done tomorrow."

"Yeah, I will call you a cab." Tyler stood up and walked her to the door, calling for a cab on his cell. "It should be here in a few. Listen, Loren, I really had fun tonight. Can we do it again? I am always looking for new friends, and I feel like we have a lot in common." Loren smiled at him. She had felt a lot better after hanging out with Tyler that night.

"Sure. Put your number in my phone," she told him, handing him her phone. Tyler entered his information before handing Loren her phone back after he texted her from his phone. "I will see you later." She said, climbing into the cab when it arrived. "Thanks for tonight. Bye, Tyler."

When she got home, she told her mom everything that happened that night, minus her make out session with Eddie and what she heard him talk to Jake about in terms of her. "So, who is this Tyler guy?" Nora asked. "How old is he?"

"I don't know. I think he is Eddie's age, maybe a year or so older." Loren shrugged. "Does it matter? He and I are just friends."

"Okay. If that is what you say, then I trust you." Nora said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just friends..."

"Mom," Loren rolled her eyes. "I am exhausted. I am going to go to bed." She walked into her room and sat down at her desk. She let herself cry as she wrote in her diary about everything that happened that day. One of the things she did regret from that night was not telling Eddie the truth about how he made her care for him and then hurt her, but instead, she had held her tongue. Maybe if he knew how she felt about everything, he would have been honest with her and told her how he was feeling. The lyrics came to her like they always did, and this time the song was about regret: regret that things didn't work out between her and Eddie; regret that she didn't say anything to him. She went to bed that night feeling so heartbroken.

_I should've done something_  
_Again, I did nothing_  
_Watched us separate_  
_What should I do now?_  
_Run and chase you down?_  
_I can't hesitate_

_'Cause all I wanted to say was something real_  
_All I want you to know is how I feel_  
_All I wanted to give was my heart_  
_But, I'm stuck here at the start_

_It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid_  
_Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way_  
_Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say_  
_But I don't want to lose you, drive you away_  
_Don't want to confuse you; I need you to stay_  
_Only wish you knew what I wanted to say_  
_Only wish you knew what I wanted to say_

_My hands are shaking_  
_I'm yours for the taking_  
_Don't you hesitate_  
_Please just do one thing_  
_One small sign, something_  
_Let's jump off the edge_

_'Cause all I want you to say is something real_  
_All I wanted to know is how you feel_  
_All I want you to give is your heart_  
_But, we're stuck here at the start_

_It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid_  
_Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way_  
_Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say_  
_But, I don't want to lose you, drive you away_  
_Don't want to confuse you; I need you to stay_  
_Only wish you knew what I wanted to say_  
_Only wish you knew what I wanted to say_

_It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid_  
_Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way_  
_Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say_  
_But I don't want to lose you_

_I don't wanna lose you_  
_No I don't wanna lose you_  
_No I don't wanna lose you_

_I should've done something; I should've done something_  
_I should've done something but I never wanted to_  
_I should've done something; I should've done something_  
_I should've done something but I never wanted to_  
_(I don't want to lose you, drive you away)_  
_I don't wanna lose you_  
_(I only wish you knew what I wanted to say)_  
_No I don't wanna lose you_  
_(What I wanted to say)_

_I should've done something; I should've done something_  
_I should've done something but I never wanted to_  
_I should've done something; I should've done something_  
_I should've done something but I never wanted to_


	10. Chapter 10

**Somebody**

**Chapter 10**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation:**_** Catch My Breath**_** by Kelly Clarkson**

**Author's Note: I am so glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter. Eddie sucks, but don't worry, he redeems himself. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. I know that many of you are concerned about Tyler, but he isn't really like the guy on the show.**

* * *

Loren woke up early. She didn't have to be at the club until the afternoon, but she couldn't sleep. She quickly washed the clothes that she had worn the day before for the video shoot. While they were washing, she sat at her desk and began looking online to see if what the buzz was about the announcement that she was going to be opening for Eddie on his tour. The first place she decided to check was twitter. She was shocked when she realized that people were tagging her in their tweets. Plus, they were hash tagging her so that her name was trending. It was almost embarrassing to see that people were saying that #LorenTate was hot or something similar to that. She just wanted to be Loren, not #LorenTate.

Her world got a little stranger when she realized that some people had seen pictures of Loren and Tyler leaving MK together. There was a ton of speculation that she and Tyler were now a couple. One person even tweeted a link to a gossip website that stated that two of them were seen being really romantic and holding hands in the inside of _Aroma_. Loren realized then and there that her life was going to be completely different now. Her name and face were out in the media, and people were now so enthralled by her life that they were speculating on who she was dating. A lot of her new twitter fans were not pleased that Loren and Tyler were getting close, especially because many of them were hoping and praying for a Leddie romance. Loren knew that if she got out now, she could disappear and soon enough, the masses would become interested in the next shiny thing out there.

The thought almost tore her apart. She could get out now, before anything else happened, and she could stay a normal high school senior with aspirations of being a lawyer. She could graduate from high school without worrying that she would trip and the picture would be tweeted around the world. She would be able to leave her house without cameras and microphones being shoved in her face, asking who she was dating or what she thought about this person or that person. She could stay the old Loren Tate.

Even though part of her wished that she could be that same girl and forget everything that had happened over the last few weeks, there was still the part of her that thought back to all of the tweets that people had sent about _Butterfly Fly Away_. People said that her song was a way for them to express themselves. They said that her music was inspirational. While it may sound egotistical to love hearing/reading that, Loren couldn't help it. She wanted to inspire people. She wanted to write words in such a powerful way that people who have always felt tongue-tied could express themselves. She didn't know if she could give that up now that she had experienced it. People loved her music, and now that she had gotten a taste of performing and sharing her personal feelings and thoughts through music, she wasn't sure if she could stop.

Loren switched the laundry over before heading back to her desk. She flipped through her diary and looked at all of the music she had written over the years. She decided that she was going to have to compile all of her music into one notebook, because she probably had so many unfinished songs tucked away in her old diaries that might be worth something. While she was messing around on Facebook, checking out the pictures her friends had posted from their weekends that were decidedly uneventful in comparison to hers (although, the pictures from bowling on Friday night that Shane and her friends had posted did look pretty fun), she was alerted to the fact that she had a new follower on twitter.

The name seemed familiar to her, but she didn't recognize it at all: _TJR_F2LA_. It was probably no one in particular, just a new fan or something, but something told her to click on the name to look at the person's profile. She laughed aloud when she realized that it was Tyler and quickly clicked the follow button on his profile. She grabbed her phone and decided to text him.

_Loren: Hey, boyfriend._

_Tyler: Um…what?_

_Loren: You didn't hear? Last night you and I began dating. We romantically held hands while talking intimately in a café over our beverages._

_Tyler: Oh, Jeeze. I guess I should have figured that people would jump to that conclusion if they saw us together. Sorry._

_Loren: its okay; if I was going to be fake-dating attached to anyone, at least it is you._

_Tyler: Even if you wish that it was Eddie._

_Loren: Been there, done that, actually. There are many people who are a fan of Leddie and want Chloed to end. On the other hand, there are tons of people who don't want Leddie or Chloed but want him all to themselves._

_Tyler: So, do we have a couple name yet?_

_Loren: I am not sure. Let's make one up. Toren?_

_Tyler: Eww. Um, Lorler?_

_Loren: Even worse. LoTy? Like LiLo, but not trashy. _

_Tyler: Hey! I had a big crush on LiLo when she was in the Parent Trap and her other Disney movies._

_Tyler: TyLo sounds better._

_Loren: That is just stupid._

_Loren: Got it! Lyler!_

_Tyler: Lyler. I like it. Although, if I had to settle for anything else, Toren isn't that bad either._

_Loren: No, I like Lyler. I am going to tweet that there is no Lyler romance, just a Lyler friendship. We gotta secure this couple name fast!_

_Tyler: Whatever you say, Loren. _

_Loren: Oh, look at how perfect a boyfriend you are already! Letting me get my way._

_Tyler: Duh. Every boyfriend should know that. The girl is always right._

_Loren: Shit, gotta get ready. I have the rest of the video shoot this afternoon. Talk later?_

_Tyler: Sounds lovely. I will anxiously await your call/text/carrier pigeon. XOXO, your BF_

_Loren: haha XOXO, your GF_

Loren rolled her eyes as she turned back to her computer to compose a tweet. She thought for a moment what she wanted to say. She smiled when it came to her.

_Love_To_Love_You: People have been asking if Tyler (TJR_F2LA) and I are dating! Wanted to tell you: there is no #Lyler. We are #justfriends XOXO to you all!_

Her phone buzzed with a text from Tyler reading HAHA. She rolled her eyes. She stared at her phone, deciding that she needed to talk to Mel and explain everything to her. She sent her a text, asking Mel to pick her up and drive her to MK. She wanted to have someone there to be her buffer if things get awkward between Loren and Eddie, and Mel would be perfect. Mel was excited to be able to go, and she said that she _needed_ to talk to Loren, too. She figured that Mel was probably talking about the paparazzi shots of Loren and Tyler, Loren's name trending on twitter, and other similar things. Loren realized that it was egotistical to think that way; maybe Mel had something that she really needed to tell Loren, something that was going on in her own life.

Loren quickly got ready for the afternoon, packing the clothes she had worn the day before in a messenger bag. She decided to forgo the purse and just carry everything in her messenger bag. She made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Her mom had left a note that she was out with Don at breakfast and that she would talk to Loren later. Loren finished a bowl of cereal and a mug of tea, putting the dishes into the dishwasher when she heard Mel honk the car horn out front. She grabbed her messenger bag and ran out the door, locking it behind her.

When she climbed into the car, Loren smiled at her best friend. "Okay, I have so much to tell you, it is not even funny." She began as she buckled her seat belt. "That being said, you have something you want to talk to me about, so you go first. Did something happen between you and Adam?"

"God, no! Honestly, the boy either needs to decide to make a move or let me move on with life." Loren just stared at Mel, who shrugged. "What? You already knew, so let's just get over it and move on. Anyways, he and I just watched horror movies last night in my living room, and he jumped every time one of my parents came into the room, which was all of three times in the course of three hours. I was really freaking proud of Gus and Lisa last night."

"Me, too! I would have thought your mom would have been all over you two."

"Same, but she was the one who stayed out the least. Papa Gus came in two out of the three times." Mel and Loren laughed. "It was kind of awkward, because he was practically a third wheel on our date."

"I bet." Loren shook her head.

"So, really the only thing I wanted to talk to you about was, um…your budding romance with Tyler Rorke." Mel said, turning the radio down so that she could focus on Loren. "So, spill the beans, lady."

"I met Tyler last night as I was leaving MK. He asked me if I wanted to get some tea with him, and I agreed. We went to the café, and we talked. It wasn't a date, honestly. Apparently, I am big enough in the media due to my association with Eddie and Tyler is popular from his TV show, so we got a few paparazzi following us." Loren began. "Honestly, the thing with Tyler is so small in comparison of the rest of what I need to tell you, and it will make sense why Tyler and I are becoming friends—"

"Hold up!" Mel said, literally holding a hand at Loren, who just hit it away from her face. "You two are becoming friends? You can't be friends with him! He is twenty-four, and you are only eighteen! What are you two going to do? Hang out at the mall?" Mel scoffed.

"You were pushing me to _date_ Eddie, and I can't be _just friends_ with Tyler?"

"That is because Eddie is your musical soul mate! Tyler is a horn dog player who has been linked to many one night stands with random actresses and stirs up trouble between Chloe and Eddie. The only redeeming thing about Tyler is the Chloed drama he causes."

"First of all, Eddie is _not_ my musical soul mate. He isn't anything to me aside from maybe a mentor as I get into the business and who I will be opening for when we go on tour." Melissa shrieked, clapping her hands.

"You are going on tour!? Can I come?!"

"Put your hands back on the wheel!" Loren shouted at her. Mel squeaked, grabbing the wheel again, shooting Loren a quick 'I'm sorry!' glance. "Besides, who else is going to film the backstage stuff for my future DVD concert sales?"

"That's true." Melissa said.

"But, back to our discussion. There is nothing between Eddie and me. He is with Chloe. Tyler and I had a good conversation at the café about how he wants to get over Chloe, because he is sick of being made out as a bad guy whenever he tries to be honest with her about how he feels about her." Melissa scoffed. "Mel, we have a lot in common, so I can be friends with him."

"Whatever." Melissa muttered. "I am your friend, and you decided to hang out with him and tell him some secrets?"

"Mel, you are my best friend, and I share everything with you. He just happened to be nearby when I was upset about something. Seriously, give me a couple of minutes to explain what has happened in the last week, and it will make sense to you." Loren insisted. "But, I seriously need you to contain yourself while I tell you this story, because I would like to not die in this car."

"Pssh, I wouldn't kill you. Your mom would kill me if I did," Mel said, rolling her eyes. "Lo, that was kind of cryptic, and it is freaking me out. What are you going to tell me? Did you and Eddie kiss or something?" Mel asked, rolling her eyes as if Loren was exaggerating.

"Well…" Loren started. "I mean…it was more of a really intense make out session."

"Wait…what?!" Melissa squeaked. "Explain, now!" So, Loren told Melissa the entire story of what happened on Sunday between her and Eddie. Mel awed and cat-called at the most ridiculous times and practically swooned when Loren told her about how Eddie had kissed her against the car. "That sounds so romantic! The rain and the dance and then the kiss! OH!" Mel said excitedly. Then, her face changed, and Loren nodded her head, feeling guilty and sad. "Oh, Lo," Mel whispered. "He was still with Chloe…" Loren chewed on her bottom lip before shaking her head no. Mel looked slightly relieved until Loren told her the worst part of the story.

"_Is_. He _is_ with Chloe." Mel pulled over and turned to face Loren.

"You have got to be fu…fudging me!" Mel quickly changed the word she was going to use when she saw the look on Loren's face. "Sorry…but, are you serious? What the hell is wrong with him? What is going on?" Loren wiped away a tear, nodding her head. She took a deep breath and began to tell her what happened the day before.

"So, yeah, Tyler knew something was wrong when he saw me rushing out of the club. He invited me out, and we talked. He talked about getting over Chloe, and he figured that we could help each other out, considering Eddie decided that he was going to stay with Chloe. So, anytime that we are feeling upset about a Chloe/Eddie thing, we call each other or text or something, you know…"

"Like a pill for a headache," Melissa nodded. "I am so sorry, Lo. I hate Eddie so much right now. I can't believe he did that to you. Well, I now like Tyler tons more." Loren laughed, wiping at her cheek again.

"I have to get there soon, Mel." Loren waved her hand, indicating that Mel should start driving again. "So, today is going to be awkward, which is why I am glad you are going to be there. You can be my buffer."

"Sounds good to me," Mel nodded, waiting for a car to go by before she pulled away from the curb. "If that jackass goes anywhere near you, I will be there in a second. Can I loudly bring up that you and Tyler are getting close and how excited I am that you two are hanging out?" Mel asked, grinning evilly.

"No, because we aren't actually dating, and I am not going to lie about that to anyone, even if Eddie did drag my heart through the dirt." Loren told Mel seriously. "I am not the type to play games."

"You're right." Mel said, sighing. "But, I am, so I can play games for you!"

"No, Mel. I am just going to let this go. It is better that Eddie and I don't start anything, anyways, because how awkward would it be if we broke up and had to go on tour with each other."

"So, it is better that it is awkward because he kissed you and then decided to take the coward's route of telling you he wasn't interested by publicly kissing his girlfriend in front of you?" Loren sighed.

"I know…it was messed up on his part. Believe me, I know that." She said, running a hand through her hair. "I am just trying to move on from this."

"By dating a guy that he doesn't like?" Mel asked, shaking her head. "If you really want to move on, Loren, you hang out with a guy you meet at the mall or who is on the football team at school. You don't date the guy that your sort-of ex hates."

"Tyler and I aren't dating. We are just going to try to be friends, help each other move on."

"Yeah, sorry, that sounds like dating to me." Loren stuck her tongue out at Melissa as they parked near MK. They made their way into the building.

"It isn't dating, Mel." Loren laughed. "You just want me to say that I am dating him, because you want to be the first to tweet that it is true."

"That isn't true!" Loren entered the club where they doing the final touches on setting up for the video. She crossed her arms and stared at Mel. "Okay, so maybe I do want that, but c'mon, Lo. Tyler is cute. You are cute. People are going to assume that you two are dating, and you two would make a pretty couple. You both are upset over other people, and that sounds like the beginning of a complicated rebound relationship."

"Mel, I don't want to talk about this. I just want to go get changed and get through the rest of today."

* * *

Loren and Eddie didn't talk much that day; they just followed the director's comments about what would look good for the video. Every break, Mel became attached to Loren's side, not allowing him the chance to even talk to Loren. When they finally wrapped the video, Loren felt relieved. As time went on, it was a little less awkward for her and Eddie to be touching each other, when they had been touching each other so differently only a week before. Her body felt coiled tight with tension, and she just needed to get out of the club. Loren raced over to Mel, seeing Mel texting on her phone. "What are you doing?" She asked, confused. Mel handed her phone back to her.

"Your phone kept vibrating with texts from Tyler, asking how you were doing. I told him that you were finishing up, and he said he was going to swing by to see if you wanted to get dinner. I told him yes and that you were bringing me, so he should be here in about ten." Loren smiled gratefully at Mel. "You looked like you needed your _friend_."

"Thanks, Mel," Loren said, rubbing her forehead.

"Loren!" Kelly came over, giving Loren a tight hug. "Can we talk a moment about the tour? We need to set up a couple of meetings at Jake's office for the next couple of weeks." Loren nodded and turned to Mel.

"Give me a few." Mel nodded. Loren stepped off to speak to Kelly about setting up times to meet at the office over the next few weeks. While they were talking, she noticed that Chloe had walked up to Mel and was obviously saying some terrible things, because Mel looked like she was three seconds away from punching Chloe. "Hey, Kel, can we finish this on the phone tomorrow when I get home from school. I need to go rescue Chloe from Mel, because she is seriously about to get punched in her money-maker." Kelly laughed and shooed Loren away. She raced over to her best friend and the blond model. "What is going on here!?" She crossed her arms and glared at Chloe.

"Seriously, Lo, Malibu Barbie is about to get herself beat." Mel practically growled. Loren laid a hand on Mel's arm, shaking her head. Mel really needed to let it go, because Loren wasn't in the mood for added drama between her and Eddie. Mel took a deep breath and blew it out, taking a step back from Chloe. Loren smiled at her, thanking her for taking the high road.

"Listen up, little girls," Chloe said in what is probably her bitchiest voice. Loren wasn't impressed, and she rolled her eyes. "Get something through your thick skulls: Eddie isn't interested in acquiring a new toy from the Valley. He is doing all of this because he thinks it will look good for his image." Loren sighed. Her head hurt, and she just needed to get out of here. Chloe was toxic, and if Eddie wanted to align himself with her (and Tyler, for that matter), that was fine with her. She just wanted to be done with all of the drama. She bit her tongue to refrain from pulling a Mel and saying something harsh.

"I am not interested in dating Eddie." Loren said slowly, trying to keep her voice even so that Chloe wouldn't know that it was a lie. She really was trying to hold it all together, and she didn't need the bitchy model to ruin anything for her. "But, Eddie really isn't doing anything for the sake of his image. I am getting signed to Eddie's label. Contracts are being drawn up for me to be his opening act for the next tour. If it really was all for his image, he wouldn't have let it get that far." She shook her head. "Let's go, Mel." Loren grabbed Mel's hand and began to drag her away from Chloe towards the craft table. She needed something to drink; she felt light-headed and just shy of passing out. She ignored the fact that her hands were shaking, out of anger or frustration, she didn't know.

"So, I hear you are dating Tyler Rorke." Chloe said when they barely got a few feet away. "I guess you realized that you can't have Eddie, so you decided to go after my sloppy seconds? It is pathetic, really, how much you are trying to be me." Loren squeezed Mel's hand. No matter how many horrible things she wanted to say to Chloe, she decided to just ignore it. It was easier that way, and she wasn't in the mood to stoop to Chloe's level. It was how Loren dealt with Adrianna, and anyone who had ever said something to her that she wanted to punch them for—she would choose to bite her tongue and let it go. It was easier than dealing with the conflict.

"Just ignore it, Mel." Loren said as she dragged Mel away. "It isn't worth it." She grabbed a water bottle from the craft table. "I just need a minute and then I am going to go change. If Tyler gets here before I get back out, can you wait outside with him? I don't want to deal with anymore drama."

"Too late!" Mel pointed at the entrance of the club, where Tyler had just walked in the door. He smiled at Loren, waving at her. Loren saw out of the corner of her eye that Eddie had saw and pulled away from his discussion with Jake. He marched over to Tyler, pushing him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?!" Eddie yelled. Tyler held his hands up as he backed away from Eddie.

"I am not here to cause any problems, Eddie. I am here to meet Loren and her friend Mel." He pointed them out as the two of them rushed over to the two men.

"Eddie, what do you think you are doing?!" Loren gasped, going to Tyler's side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine. I guess I should have just texted you that I am here." He laughed, rubbing his chest. "You guys ready to leave?"

"Sorry, I just need to get changed, and then we can go. Mel drove me here, so we can follow you to…where are we going for dinner?"

"I was thinking that we could hit up a diner in your neck of the woods. Less likely to be harassed by the paps." Tyler told her, and Loren nodded.

"We know the perfect place," Mel told him. "Hi, I'm Mel. The BFF." She extended her hand to Tyler to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Mel." Tyler smiled, shaking her hand. "So, Loren, see you in a few? I think Mel and I will wait outside."

"Sounds good." She glared at Eddie briefly before heading into the back to change into the clothes she had worn originally.

When Loren emerged from the dressing room, she practically ran into Eddie. "Sorry." She muttered, walking past him. She didn't know why he was pacing outside of her dressing room, but she wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with him. She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. Eddie caught her arm, not letting her get too far from him.

"Are you dating Tyler?" She narrowed her eyes at Eddie. Why did he care? He was with Chloe, and he made that perfectly clear the day before when he kissed her in front of Loren. She pulled away from him, continuing further down the hallway.

"Wow," was all Loren said. She didn't have to explain herself to him.

"He isn't a good guy, Loren. He is probably just trying to use you, because he knows that you…we…we're close." Eddie said as he moved to block her path. "I don't want to see you get hurt. Seriously, he isn't a good person." Loren pulled her arm from his grasp, glaring at him. Last night, she was feeling sad and betrayed, but now she was feeling angry. Eddie frowned when he saw her expression and saw how she pulled away from him.

"First of all, Eddie, it is none of your business who I am dating." Loren said as calmly as she could. This couldn't turn badly between them, because then the tour would be miserable, and Loren needed this tour to go well. "Second of all, just because you have issues with Tyler does not mean that what is going on between him and I has anything to do with you." She stepped around him and walked away. She wasn't going to let this get to her.

* * *

At the diner, Loren was quiet while Tyler and Mel chatted. Mel was asking Tyler all different kinds of questions about himself. She was in her own little world, trying to forget about the afternoon she just had. First, Chloe and how horrible she was to Loren and Mel, and then Eddie had the nerve to question her about Tyler, as if he had a right to say something to her when he chose Chloe over her. She still registered what Mel and Tyler were talking about. Apparently, Tyler's favorite color was yellow, his favorite band was Aerosmith, his favorite food is salmon, he was a Capricorn (his birthday was January 13th), if he hadn't of become an actor, he would have loved to become a pediatrician, his dad is a pastor in Fresno, and he wants to have four kids. Tyler and Mel realized that Loren was zoning out, so Tyler decided to do his duty to as her friend.

"Loren, you okay?" She jumped, registering that their idle chit-chat was now over and they were focusing on her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She told them, giving them a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"No, you aren't." Tyler and Mel said at the same time; they looked at each other and then began laughing. "But, seriously, though, Loren, you are pale and look miserable." Mel said when the two of them recovered from the strange coincidence.

"It was just hard today. I really appreciate that you being there, Mel." Loren told them, running a hand through her hair. The waitress came to the table then, dropping off their drinks and taking their orders. When she left, Loren resumed talking. "It was hard for me, you know. He really made me care for him, and I thought that he cared for me. Yesterday sucked, seeing him kiss Chloe and choose her. Then, today, it was just so awkward to be so close to him during the rest of the filming of the music video, even worse than it was yesterday when I didn't know how he was feeling. Then, Chloe had to say what she said…" Loren rubbed her forehead with her hand, feeling a headache coming on.

"Wait! What did Chloe say to you?" Tyler asked; his face was scrunched in anger. "I can't believe she had the nerve to say something to you." His hands tightened into fists on the table.

"She just said that Eddie was doing all this to look good in front of everyone. When Loren told her that she was being signed at Eddie's label and was going to open for him, Chloe went defensive and said that Loren was trying to be her because she was dating her 'sloppy seconds.'" Mel explained to Tyler, who just groaned.

"Ignore her, Loren." He said quietly, rubbing a hand over his face. "I hate that she said that to you…"

"I just don't know what you and Eddie see in her." Mel said, sipping her soda. "She is honestly one of the worst people I have ever met, and I know Satan's Spawn—she is dating my brother and the daughter of Loren's mom's boyfriend."

"She wasn't always this way, you know." Tyler began, sipping his iced tea. "She was different in high school, a better person. She decided that she wanted to become an actress and dumped me the second she turned eighteen. She moved out here and spent the last six years modeling and trying to become an actress. The last two, she has been trying to become _the_ Mrs. Eddie Duran. When we were in high school, her ambition was something to be admired, something that was sexy, you know?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I came here to be with her within a year after she left, and I have spent the last five years trying to prove to her that I am worthwhile. When she started dating Eddie two years ago, it became my mission to destroy them and to get her back. I feel stupid, but it is like an addiction, you know? My relationship with her is toxic, but I can't seem to shake it. That is why I am here, with you, Loren, because I figured that we could try to help each other move on from everything." Tyler said honestly.

"God! I just hate that blond bimbo." Melissa muttered, moving her straw around her drink.

"I wish that I could have been there to help you out, today, Loren. I am glad that Mel was there for you at least." Tyler laid his hand on Loren's. Melissa froze for a moment, but relaxed when Tyler released Loren's hand. "I am just glad that I can be here for you now. Last night when he called, you kind of acted like nothing bothered you. Why did you lie to him about what you were feeling?"

"Yeah, that is what Loren does for everything. She avoids conflict. When Adrianna would say crap to her at school, Loren would just ignore it. When she noticed that her mom's dates were not too nice to her unless her mom was around, she would ignore it just so that her mom would be happy. She did it today with Chloe, too." Mel rolled her eyes.

"After the whole blow up when you arrived, Eddie confronted me after I got changed." Loren said quietly. "He asked if I was dating you, and he said that you were just using me to get back at him and all that kind of stuff. I told him that it was none of his business and that what was going on between us has nothing to do with him. So, I didn't just let that go…"

"Except you did, Lo!" Mel said with exasperatedly. "You should have told him with much more conviction and that he made his choice to go with Chloe and that you weren't going to be his dirty little secret that will follow him around like a lovesick puppy. I am sure that you didn't show any emotion at all. That is just sucking up and letting it go."

"But, I have to! I have to just ignore it so that I can get through the tour! I can't afford that drama that comes from everything on the tour!" Loren said, running a hand through her hair.

"You shouldn't just turn your cheek just for the sake of a tour." Tyler told her. "He is only going to keep treating you like you belong to him even though he is with Chloe." Loren chewed on her bottom lip, her brow furrowed. "It is the same way that Chloe made me think that I belonged to her when she was sleeping her way into modeling jobs and commercial and TV show cameos. The second that Eddie took one look at her though, she dropped me like a hot potato," Tyler muttered. He looked at Loren and Mel, who were frowning. "Sorry, we weren't talking about me. The whole point I was trying to make was that you need to stop letting things go and actually stand up for yourself. If you want to make it in show business, you need to stand up for yourself. You can't just suck it up when someone tells you to do something you don't agree with; it is only going to wind up screwing with you."

Loren thought about what he was saying. She ignored her reservations about the dress the night before and worn it anyway, because Kelly told her to. That didn't turn out too badly, though. It was just a little shorter and tighter than she usually wore.

"I agree completely. I am not going to be there to always fight your battles for you, Lo." Mel told her. "Don't get me wrong, though; I love being a feisty bitch and all, but I am not going to be around every time. Besides, you want to be able to enjoy this, and you won't be able to do that if you are constantly sucking up the bad and not fighting for what you want."

They were right, and Loren just needed to stop taking a moment to catch her breath and then ignoring what people have said or how they have treated her. She needed to actually do things for herself. The clothes, the mean words from people like Chloe and Adrianna, and being told who and who not to date by Eddie—she could let it go, but on her terms. She wasn't going to let it get her down anymore; they can say what they want, but Loren was going to fight hard for what she wants from now on. As much as she wanted to be with Eddie, she knew that right now it wasn't healthy for her. He was too wrapped up in Chloe, and she wasn't going to fight for him when it was likely going to end with her heart broken.

"I hear you." Loren said slowly. She couldn't help but feel the lyrics bubble up in her. She searched through her messenger bag for her diary. She carried it everywhere for this reason. "Remind me to buy myself a notebook for lyrics, Mel. I have got to stop carrying my diary around in the event that I might get inspiration for a song."

"Oh! New song?!" Mel said excitedly. "Will do, and write away, my darling. I can't wait to hear it when you are done."

"Promise," Loren laughed. She quickly buried her face in her diary, writing the lyrics as they came to her. The waitress arrived with their food, and Loren carefully ate her cheeseburger and fries while writing. She quietly hummed to herself as she thought through how she wanted the song to go. Tyler and Mel watched her, and she only felt a little self-conscious. She figured that she would have to learn to deal with it, because people are going to be watching her perform, watching her walk down the street, watching her do God knows what. This was one thing that she actually _had_ to let go, because it essentially what her job would wind up being. "Okay, so I think I have it. When we get outside, I will sing it to you guys, but it is a little loud in here, and I don't want to disturb anyone's dinner."

"Pssh! Remember, you got to fight for what you want! This is the last time I will fight for you, Lo." Loren just stared at Mel. "Okay, that isn't true, but you know what I mean." Mel stood up. "EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!" Loren smacked Mel's arm, but she ignored it. "Sorry to disturb your dinner, but I was wondering if you all would love to hear Loren Tate, the amazing, new opening act for Eddie Duran's next tour coming to you sometime next year, sing her brand new song. Like, literally she wrote it five minutes ago. It is a rare opportunity people, so silence, please! Loren, the floor is yours." Everyone in the diner turned to stare at her.

"Oh, my God! I am so sorry; please ignore her and return to your meals."

"We would love to hear you sing," their waitress said, smiling. A couple of people murmured their agreement. Loren bit her lip and stood up. She felt like she was going to faint again.

"You can do this, Lo." Tyler said, grinning. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it in encouragement. Loren nodded.

"Okay, so this song is called _Catch My Breath_." She said, running a hand through her hair. She picked up her diary so that she could read the lyrics. "It is going to be a tad bit rough, so please bear with me." She took a couple of deep breaths and blushed when she saw that several of the diners were recording her on their cell phones. She was used to it with Mel, but it was a little unnerving to see strangers doing it. "This song is dedicated to the amazing Melissa Sanders, my best friend in the whole world. I love you so much; you have always been there for me when I needed you the most, and I can only hope that I was as much of an amazing friend to you as you have been for me. I would also like to dedicate this song to a new friend of mine, Tyler Rorke. Even though you and I haven't known each other for very long, I am so glad that I have met you. The two of you helped me realize something really important tonight, and I really appreciate it. So, without further ado, my new song _Catch My Breath_." Loren held her notebook in one hand and tapped the beat on her upper thigh with her other hand.

_"I don't want to be left behind  
Distance was a friend of mine  
Catching breath in a web of lies  
I've spent most of my life_

_"Riding waves, playing acrobat_  
_Shadow boxing the other half_  
_Learning how to react_  
_I've spent most of my time_

_"Catching my breath_  
_Letting it go_  
_Turning my cheek for the sake of the show_  
_Now that you know_  
_This is my life_  
_I won't be told what's supposed to be right_

_"Catch my breath_  
_No one can hold me back_  
_I ain't got time for that_  
_Catch my breath_  
_Won't let em get me down_  
_It's all so simple now_

_"Addicted to the love I've found_  
_Heavy heart now a weightless cloud_  
_Making time for the ones that count_  
_I'll spend the rest of my time_

_"Laughing hard with the windows down_  
_Leaving footprints all over town_  
_Keeping faith; karma comes around_  
_I won't spend the rest of my life_

_"Catching my breath_  
_Letting it go_  
_Turning my cheek for the sake of the show_  
_Now that you know_  
_This is my life_  
_I won't be told what's supposed to be right_

_"Catch my breath_  
_No one can hold me back_  
_I ain't got time for that_  
_Catch my breath_  
_Won't let em get me down_  
_It's all so simple now_." She turned and looked at Mel, holding her hand out to her, as she sang the next line. Mel grabbed it, giving her a big smile as she recorded her on her cell phone.

_"You help me see the beauty in everything_

_"Catching my breath_  
_Letting it go_  
_Turning my cheek for the sake of the show_  
_Now that you know_  
_This is my life_  
_I won't be told what's supposed to be right_

_"Catching my breath_  
_Letting it go_  
_Turning my cheek for the sake of the show_  
_Now that you know_  
_This is my life_  
_I won't be told what's supposed to be right_

_"Catch my breath_  
_No one can hold me back_  
_I ain't got time for that_  
_Catch my breath_  
_Won't let em get me down_  
_It's all so simple now_  
_It's all so simple now_

_"Catching my breath_  
_Letting it go_  
_Turning my cheek for the sake of the show_  
_Now that you know_  
_This is my life_  
_I won't be told what's supposed to be right_

_"Catch my breath_  
_No one can hold me back_  
_I ain't got time for that_  
_Catch my breath_  
_Won't let em get me down_  
_It's all so simple now_  
_It's all so simple now_." When she finished the song, she dropped Mel's hand and ran a hand through her hair, embarrassed. Everyone started applauding her, and she laughed, chewing on the nail of her index finger, holding back her grin. She blushed, giving a small bow in gratitude.

"Thanks, everyone! Please, go back to your dinners," she told them, sitting down. She knew that she was bright red, and Mel was squealing excitedly as she posted the video to twitter from her phone. Tyler wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"That was an amazing song. I loved it. That definitely needs to go on your album." Loren chewed on her bottom lip.

"Stop," she blushed. "It wasn't that good."

"Um, yes it was, Lo! They all loved you!" Their waitress came by the table with their bill. Tyler grabbed it and waved off protests from both Mel and Loren.

"I was wondering if I could get your autograph, Miss Tate." The girl said hesitantly, holding out a pad of paper. "It would be really amazing, but I would totally understand if I am overstepping my bounds…I mean, you are really talented, and I will definitely buy your CD when you release it." The girl was rambling, blushing bright red.

"Of course!" Loren smiled brightly. It was the first time someone asked for her autograph.

"Wait! Let me film that, so please do it all over again." Loren rolled her eyes as Mel held her phone up again. The waitress laughed.

"Miss Tate, I was wondering if I could get your autograph, please. You are really talented, and I am definitely going to be one of your biggest fans." The waitress held out the pad of paper again.

"Of course!" Loren responded, taking the pad from the waitress and grabbed her pen. "You said your name was Lucy, right?"

"Yes," the waitress said, wringing her hands.

"Lucy, you are the sweetest person I have had the pleasure meeting recently. Thank you so much for your warm words; I am so glad that I can count you as one of my fans. Love, Loren Tate." Loren said as she wrote on the pad. She signed her name larger than the rest of the note and handed it back to Lucy.

"Thank you so much! You are totally awesome. I really can't wait until your new CD comes out!" She hurried off, and Loren couldn't help turning to Mel.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" They both said at the same time. "Wait, I didn't get your first autograph!" Mel whined after a moment.

"I can sign something for you, too." Loren promised her. They left the restaurant and made their way to their cars. "Thank you both for tonight. I really meant what I said in there. You guys are really awesome, and I really appreciate what you both have done for me. Even if you and I haven't known each other for that long, Tyler, you are still really important to me. Thank you for being here for me." She gave him a hug. Mel snapped a picture of it on her phone. "Mel!" Loren muttered as she pulled away from Tyler.

"What? It was a cute hug." She giggled. "I am tweeting that. What did you say earlier today? There is no such thing as 'Lyler?'" Loren smacked her upper arm.

"Don't encourage the masses!" She muttered.

"I'm not! Look at what I tweeted." Mel handed Loren her phone. Loren studied the recent tweets that Mel had sent out.

_DramaQueenMelS: Spent the afternoon at _theREAL_EddieDuran 's video shoot with my bestie, Love_To_Love_You ; Loren is gonna be a #star_

_DramaQueenMelS: Dinner date with Love_To_Love_You and TJR_F2LA in the Valley. Love making friends with actors; totes fun night! =]_

_DramaQueenMelS: Check out an impromptu concert at dinner by one Love_To_Love_You ; she is #amazing #bestfriends #supertalented_

This tweet also had the link to her blog attached to it. Loren clicked on the link and checked out the video of her singing. She blushed as she saw how embarrassed she was while she was singing, but the song sounded pretty good, so Loren felt a lot better about the fact that she sang in a diner.

_DramaQueenMelS: Check out a cute pic of #Lyler ! So glad Love_To_Love_You and I have made a new friend! TJR_F2LA, welcome to the family!_

Loren sighed; the damage wouldn't be too bad, and Mel did say that they were friends. "Okay, it doesn't look bad." She handed Mel her phone back. "Well, I still have homework to finish, so we got to go. I will talk to you later, Tyler?" He nodded, giving her another small hug. They climbed into their cars and went their separate ways.

Even though the weekend had started out badly, Loren smiled to herself as thought about how well the weekend seemed to have ended. She made a new friend, Mel had accepted Tyler into the fold (sort of), and Loren had wrote an awesome song that was already trending on twitter based on the number of retweets that Mel's original post seemed to get. Other people were filming it too, so it was likely to be spreading like wildfire (hopefully). Since she made a decision to stand up for herself more, Loren found that a small weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.


	11. Chapter 11

**Somebody**

**Chapter 11**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights **_**Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**The Mess I Made **_**by Parachute; I**_** Almost Do**_** by Taylor Swift**

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! I appreciate so many warm reviews about how much you are enjoying the chapter. However, I have also gotten quite a few negative reviews because I didn't update this chapter in a timely enough manner for you. I don't appreciate being told by a guest reviewer that I was going to lose him/her as a reader because it took me longer than a week to update. If that is true, then I say good riddance, because I don't like being threatened. I am in graduate school with a large workload that takes priority over this story. This is just something I do in my spare time for fun, but my graduate education is for my future. That is way more important. There will be times when I can update more frequently, but there will be other times—more often than not—that I will be really busy and unable to update. So, threaten all you want about me losing you as a reader. I don't care, because there are plenty of other amazing people on here that I have been in communication with—and many more that I have not—who will stick with me. They are all of the readers that I need. Remember, folks, patience is a virtue, and a few of you appeared not to have it. Sorry that this author's note had to be so negative, but I wanted to say my piece. A big thank you to all of you amazing people who have been reviewing this story with kind words that spur me to write whenever I can! You guys are amazing!**

* * *

Monday was only a little awkward for Loren; she had some growing pains in terms of standing up for herself, but she had gotten better as time went on. Instead of people constantly whispering about her friendship (and possible romance) with Eddie, people were now also talking about her friendship (and possible romance) with Tyler, too. There were even some people asking whether or not Eddie was going to fight Tyler, because he was jealous—as if both of them men were in high school. When Loren told them that there was nothing more than friendship between her and both of the guys, they didn't seem to like those answers much at all. "I am sorry that you are disappointed that there isn't anything scandalous going on, but that is the truth. I am only friends with Tyler and Eddie. Nothing more, so just get over it." She would tell them before walking away from them.

On Monday afternoon, Kelly came by to drop off the contracts from the label for the upcoming tour and for the record deal. Nora, Loren, and their lawyer could look them over before the meeting that Kelly and Loren set up for Thursday afternoon; Loren was leaving school early for three back to back meetings. First, she was going to meet with Jake, Kelly, and Daniel from the label to go over the contract one last time, sign it officially, and discuss her upcoming album. Then, Eddie was going to join the four of them to discuss the tour details. Then, Kelly, Jake, Eddie, and Loren were going to discuss upcoming promotional events that they were going to do together and separately to draw attention to their new albums and the tour. She hated missing school, but this was all really important, so she agreed to do it. She was going to make it clear at the meeting that she wasn't going to keep missing school. Either they would have to wait until after she was done school for the day or on the weekends when she didn't have shifts at the café.

Loren was avoiding Eddie's texts and calls, unless she was sure that they were work related. She continued to tweet him, though, because she didn't want people to worry about the upcoming tour if their relationship was strained. His messages to her were getting a lot more desperate as time went on; he kept telling her that he missed her and their friendship. He even apologized for being a jerk and confusing her with the kiss. It was the first time that Loren heard him actually mention the kiss to her after it had happened. Her heart was breaking, because she wanted nothing more than to call him and go back to how it was before, but she knew that it would only wind up with her having a broken heart. After a few days, he realized that she would only answer when it was music-related, so he stopped trying to get their friendship back on track and would only text her or call her relating to his music or her music. Loren would always immediately call or text Tyler whenever Eddie would, so she could get her head together before she would talk to him. Tyler and Mel were quickly becoming lifelines for her, and she would be drowning if it wasn't for them.

Loren arrived early to the first meeting being held in Jake's office. She smiled at the man in the front office; he was on the phone, but he smiled back at her and rolled his eyes as he made a gesture with his hand to indicate that the person on the phone was talking too much. "Yes, I understand, sir. When Mr. Madson gets out of his meetings this afternoon, I promise you will be the first he calls. Yes…Yes…Yes, Mr. Hartford, I understand." He grabbed a legal pad and a pen and began scribbling on the paper with the phone tucked under his chin. "Right. Okay, yes. Have a good afternoon, sir." He hung up the phone and groaned, rubbing his forehead. "That man is worse than my mother." The man smiled up at Loren. "You are Loren Tate, I assume." She nodded her head, extending her hand to him. "Steven, Jake and Kelly's personal slave." He joked as he shook Loren's hand. "Very nice to meet you. I saw your videos on twitter. They are good."

"Thank you so much!" Loren blushed, releasing Steven's hand and running it through her hair in embarrassment. "It is great meeting you, as well." Steven stood up and walked around his desk to the door of Jake's office. He knocked on it and stuck his head in after a moment.

"Loren's here." He stepped back, allowing Loren to pass by him and move into the room.

"Thank you, Steven." She waved goodbye to him and entered the room. She was shocked to see that everyone was already there, including Eddie. "Um, hi. Am I late?" She asked, glancing at the time on her cell.

"No, no, no!" Kelly said quickly, patting the empty chair by her and Eddie. "We were just doing some chatting about Eddie's new album, so c'mon in. You should hear his new songs. He just played a couple for us."

"Um, it's fine. She doesn't want to hear my music. She is here to talk about hers, so we can just focus on that stuff." Eddie said, waving off the suggestion.

"Nonsense!" Kelly said, rolling her eyes. "She was a fan first, so we would love to hear what she has to say about the new stuff. I like it. It is a little different, but a good different, you know. It is softer…I like it." Loren sat down next to Eddie. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he hit play on his phone again. The first song she recognized as the song he played at their spot the day they kissed.

"I recognize this one." She said quickly, not wanting to hear it and get further reminded of that afternoon. "You played it for me before. I loved it." Eddie nodded, quickly switching to the next song.

Loren knew that she shouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that this song was about her; the song could be about a fight with Chloe, but as the lyrics progressed, Loren knew that the song was a regretful breakup song. Her heart felt like it was simultaneously beating faster and stopping at the same time. She glanced at Eddie from the corner of her eye, and he looked kind of pale and was staring at his hands. She let her eyes fall closed as she listened to how soulful and regretful his voice was. It was obvious that he didn't intend for her to hear this song, at least not until the album came out or he performed it on the tour.

_"Should've kissed you there  
I should've held your face  
I should've watched those eyes  
Instead of run in place  
I should've called you out  
I should've said your name  
I should've turned around  
I should've looked again_

_"But, oh, I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_As you turn, you take your heart and walk away_

_"Should've held my ground_  
_I could've been redeemed_  
_For every second chance_  
_That changed its mind on me_  
_I should've spoken up_  
_I should've proudly claimed_  
_That, oh, my head's to blame_  
_For all my heart's mistakes_

_"But, oh, I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_As you turn, you take your heart and walk away_

_"And it's you..._  
_And it's you..._  
_And it's you..._  
_And it's you..._  
_And it's falling down_  
_As you walk away_  
_And it's on me now_  
_As you go..._

_"But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_As you turn, you take your heart and walk away_

_"And it's falling down_  
_As you walk away_  
_And it's on me now_  
_As you go..._

_"But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_I'm staring at the mess I made_  
_As you turn, you take your heart and walk away_."

When the song ended, Loren opened her eyes, so thankful that she hadn't started crying. She took two deep breaths before plastering a smile on her face. "That was an amazing song." She said seriously. It was a great song; it just made her feel so confused. What did he want from her? Even if he proclaimed that he was going to end things with Chloe, would anything change? Would she just be the rebound? Could she be the girl that breaks up Chloed, one Hollywood's favorite couples? And, what if he realizes that he made a mistake and didn't really care for her after all? It would only lead to her heart breaking. Right? If they were really supposed to have a relationship, one that lasts anyways, it can't happen this way. As much as her heart hurt over this, she knew that it was the best thing for her. "It is regretful, and I think that the fans will love it, because everyone does something at some point in life that is regretted." She ran a hand through her hair. She needed to call Tyler immediately before she lost it. "Hey, can I run to the restroom really fast? I feel like Mel for saying this, but I totally have to pee." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Of course!" Jake said, waving his hand. "Steven will point the way." Loren nodded her head and stood up, thankful that she still had her phone in her lap so that she didn't have to go searching for it. She rushed out of the office and into the hallway, giving a small wave to Steven along the way. When she was out of sight, she quickly called Tyler.

"Hey, Lo, I thought you had your big meeting with everyone now?" Tyler asked, confused when the call went through.

"I think Eddie wrote a song about regretting letting me walk away." She said quickly. She felt the tears fill her eyes, so she took a couple of deep breaths to pull herself together.

"What?" Tyler said after a moment.

"I am totally serious. It is a song about how he shouldn't have let the person walk away with her heart and now he is left, looking at the mess he made." Lore said, pointedly. "You didn't happen to see a breakup announcement on the news about Chloed, did you? No, so the only thing I can think of is that he wrote the song about me." She whispered.

"Wow. So, maybe he is going to breakup with Chloe for you." Tyler said, and she let her eyes fall closed as she pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Tyler…I just…as amazing as that would be, can I be the rebound girl? What if I am just an excuse for him to get out of a relationship that he isn't happy in anymore? I just don't want to be strung along if he doesn't mean it, you know?"

"But, what if he does mean it, Lo? What if he does want you?"

"I don't know!" Loren whined, running a hand through her hair. "I am so scared that I am going to get hurt, and I can't pursue a relationship with him only to have it fall through and then the tour is awkward."

"Lo, I am here for you no matter what you decide. But, I would want to know what is going on in his head before I made that kind of decision." Loren nodded her head, knowing that Tyler couldn't see it. She pulled away from the wall and walked back into the office, still talking to him.

"You are totally right," she whispered, smiling sadly. "I definitely need to hear him out." She said as she walked back toward Jake's office.

"Listen, how about you and I hang out tomorrow night? We can talk, have some fun, and get your mind off things."

Loren was about to respond as she walked through the door of Jake's office when she heard Daniel say to Eddie, "The label is against a breakup, so I just want to make sure that this song isn't being inspired by the end of Chloed." It was like a bucket of water being thrown into her face. Eddie glanced up at her then, seeing that she looked upset. Thankfully, Jake and Daniel had their backs to her, and Kelly was busy looking at something on her tablet, so none of them saw her face.

"Sure, Tyler, I would love to hang out tomorrow night. I gotta go, okay? Bye." She hung up the phone without even waiting to hear his response. Eddie jumped up from his seat.

"Loren, can I talk to you?" He said urgently as he made his way to her, grabbing her by the hand. He pulled her from office and back out into the hallway again. Loren pulled away from him, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Loren, listen…about the song…" She shook her head, because so many things were swirling around in her head and heart, she felt like she was going to explode.

"Stop." She said, turning to face him. "I just need a moment, okay?" He nodded, and Loren turned her back on him, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down. When she felt a little more composed, she turned around to face him again. "The song was beautiful, Eddie." She began. "But, it was also unfair. Everything you have done since that Sunday at the spot has been unfair to me." Loren took a deep breath and blew it out.

"I know," Eddie told her, running a hand over his face. "I am so sorry to put you through all of this. I am just so confused, okay?" He was confused? Loren laughed, rolling her eyes. "I am serious. Things with Chloe and I have been strained, between all of the traveling I have done and all of the traveling that she does. Then, I meet you, and you totally put me in my place. I finally realized that there is a lot of bad shit in this world, some worse than what I have been through, and I am so glad that I met you, because it helped me to realize that I need to stop feeling sorry for myself."

"Oh? So, you found someone else to feel sorry for? Am I that person?" She scoffed, crossing her arms.

"No, that isn't what I meant. I just meant that you humbled me, and then I heard your voice on your phone, and I knew that there was something there. So, I tweeted your lyrics, and I hoped that you would see them. After I saw that video on Melissa's blog, I knew that you were this amazing person that I had to help the world hear." He took a step closer to her, but Loren stepped back. She wasn't ready for him to be closer to her. "As we talked more and spent more time together, I felt like there was this connection between the two of us. It was so easy to be around you, and that connection became a crutch." Loren looked down at the ground. She had a feeling like this conversation was going to go downhill; her gut was churning and she just wanted to leave.

"So…" She prodded after a few moments of feeling his eyes on her studying her.

"I really care about you, but I didn't know what those feelings meant when I kissed you that day." He said quietly. "I thought it would be so much easier for me to like you, because I knew that you were becoming one of my best friends."

"Do you know what those feelings are now?" Loren asked, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes.

"I like you, Loren. I really like you." Eddie said after a moment. She heard the "but" in his voice.

"But, you love Chloe."

"I do. It might not be perfect or easy all of the time, but I love her." Loren began to chew on her bottom lip. She could understand that, but she just wished that he had never kissed her in the first place. "I don't want you to hate me, Loren, because the idea of that kills me. I just wish that I wasn't so confused about everything. Just looking at you, biting your lip, I still want to kiss you."

"Eddie…" She turned away from him, taking a couple of deep breaths. "You can't say that, because you chose her. You chose her, and now you have to deal with that." That was all Loren was going to say about it. She wasn't going to tell him that she wanted to kiss him, too. She wasn't going to say that her heart felt like it was breaking apart. Loren couldn't help the laugh that came bubbling out of her now. She shook her head and started to walk past him. "You know that saying, 'never leave the one you love for the one you like, because the one you like will leave you for the one you love?'" She asked him casually. "I feel like that is really fitting right now; here's hoping that I can find the one I love, huh?" Loren started to walk past him, back to the office to get this stupid meeting over with. "I like to believe that your song is a premonition for this moment, because I am definitely walking away now."

She smiled when she reentered the office; it was a farce, but she didn't need the rest of them to know that. Jake stared at her for a moment, but Loren just ignored it and sat down, focusing her attention on Daniel. "Let's get this started. I have the paperwork here, ready to sign." She said as she pulled the contracts from her bag. "Everything looked good when my mom and I went over it with a lawyer." She told Daniel as she grabbed a pen. "I am ready to sign away my soul," she joked, grabbing a pen.

"Sign away, then." Kelly said, clapping her hands. Loren nodded, placing the pen to the paper, quickly signing the contracts with the record label and as the opening act of Eddie's next tour. Eddie came in just as she was picking up the pen, and she refused to look at him. She just handed the paperwork to Daniel, smiling at him.

"So, what were you thinking for your first album?" Daniel asked. "We were hoping that we could get something out in December or January? It will give you time to build up a fan base before the tour, so that people will know what to expect when they hear you in concert."

"That sounds great. How many songs would you like? A first album is usually about twelve songs, right?"

"Yeah, but since so many people have already heard quite a few of your songs, and the response has been pretty favorable for them, we figured that we could make it fourteen or fifteen. What do you think?" Daniel asked, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees and his hands were clasped in front of him.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty great." Loren grabbed her new song book and began flipping through it, folding the corners of songs she thought might work well in the album. "I have a bunch of songs here that are pretty much ready." She said, looking up. "And, I have a few other verses written down in here that I could probably turn into some awesome songs, so I think I could get those last few out by in the next few weeks. Can we shoot for January to release the album? I am going to try to do the fifteen, but I can guarantee you the fourteen songs, at least." Loren asked as she put her song book away.

"Wow! This is so much easier than when I am bothering Eddie for an idea of when his songs will be done." Daniel laughed, looking pointedly at Eddie.

"Yeah, well, I have been really inspired over the last few years." Loren told him, looking at her hands. "Actually, the last fourteen years have been pretty damn inspirational." She shook her head, clearing her head of the bad memories she had since her dad left.

"Wait? You are only eighteen. You had a boyfriend at four?" Kelly laughed, doing the math and trying to connect some of the breakup songs she had sang to the last fourteen years.

"No, but I had a dad that decided to bail on me and my mom." Loren said seriously. "That really screws with a girl's head and heart, so I have plenty of songs about the broken heart he left us with."

"Oh, Loren…" Kelly said, laying a hand on her knee. "I am so sorry."

"It's fine. Listen, can we get on with this? I have a lot of homework that I need to do for tomorrow."

"Right, so the tour…" Jake said, pulling the calendar up on his tablet. "So, we were thinking that we could start the tour by early July. Loren, when do you graduate?"

"June fifteenth." She said instantly. She had been counting down the days until graduation when she first sent in her applications to Brown and other colleges, and now she was counting down for another reason.

"That's a Saturday," Jake mumbled. "Well, what if we started the tour the twenty-first or the twenty-eighth? They are Fridays." He asked, looking up at Loren and Eddie. "Would either of those dates work for you?"

"Either one is cool with me." Eddie said. He looked and sounded uncomfortable, and Loren knew she felt the same way, but she hoped that she at least hid it better than he did.

"Can I request the twenty-eighth as the first show? My friends and I had originally planned on going on a road trip across the country and ending in New York City, but now that I am going on tour, we will have to figure something else out. I mean, who wants to go on a road trip right before they go on another one?" She joked, making everyone chuckle. "I will have to figure out something else for all of us to do after graduation that is closer to home, so that I can get myself ready for the tour."

"That would be awesome, because the sooner we can start rehearsals and figuring out wardrobe and set lists and stage designs for the tour, the better." Loren nodded her head.

"I totally understand. Mel wants to go on tour with me anyways…" She trailed off, looking up at them with a hopeful expression on her face. "Can she go? I mean, she is like my personal videographer, anyways. It would give a bunch of cool behind the scenes footage if you guys ever decide on making a concert movie like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and the Glee cast did." She gave Jake her best puppy-dog face, her bottom lip jutting out just enough.

"Oh, God, fine…" He groaned, shaking his head. "She can come."

"Perfect! Thanks! She will be so happy to hear that. It would only be for the summer, anyways, because she has school starting in the fall." Loren blew out a breath. "Wow! I just realized that I will have to put off school when I start getting acceptance letters." She shook her head. "My mind is totally blown by that. I mean, my whole fifteen-year plan has been thrown out the window."

"You had a fifteen-year plan?" Eddie asked, shocked.

"Yeah," she said, turning to face him. She rolled her eyes at the small smirk on his face. Most people had a five-year plan or a ten-year plan. There was a lot about her that Eddie had no idea about. "Four years at Brown, hopefully. Then three years at law school. My mom wants Harvard law, but I am not sure what law school yet. Then, five years of paying my dues at a law office. After that, I plan on going back to school for my doctorate in law so that I can get a job teaching at a small liberal arts college. Rhode Island is amazing year round, so if I wasn't doing music, I probably would stay in the Northeast." Loren shrugged her shoulders. "Hopefully, during that fifteen years, I would fall in love, get married, and start having kids, too."

"Wow. I had no idea you wanted to be a lawyer." Eddie said as he crossed his arms, giving her a bewildered look.

"Yeah, I still do." Loren ran a hand through her hair. "I think…I don't know. I am eighteen; I have my entire life ahead of me to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life."

"You do know, though, that for the next four years, you are a singer-songwriter, right?" Daniel asked, making Loren laugh.

"Yes, I know that." She turned her attention back to Jake. "So, what cities were you thinking about including on the tour?"

"Well, we were planning on starting in L.A., then doing cities like Vegas, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Austin, New Orleans, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, then coming back to California with San Diego and then L.A. again." Loren blew out a breath. "I know it seems like a lot," Jake laughed.

"So, you want to hit like twenty places in how long?"

"We were hoping that the tour could go until the first week of December."

"What about Thanksgiving?"

"Well, the plan is that you guys would end in L.A., so you guys would be home in time for the holiday. We would just host the last couple of shows on the…eighth of December." Jake said, holding the tablet out to her to show her the calendar. Loren nodded.

"That is good, because Mel's birthday is on December sixteenth. She would have killed me if I wasn't around for her birthday." Loren said seriously. Jake, Eddie, and Kelly laughed, but Loren just shook her head. "No, I am not kidding," she said, turning to Eddie. "By the way, she told me to tell you to tell your dad that he is to close down his club on the Saturday the fifteenth, so that she can have her party there. She expects you, your dad, and me to perform for her, and would gladly accept any other artists that you may know to perform, as well. Oh, and she expects you to get Ryan Gosling there, because she has had such a massive crush on him for years and now she knows someone in the business with connections." Loren told him with a straight face. "Oh, and I expect that she is going to want her birthday party at the club again next year, too." Eddie started laughing hard, but Loren just looked at him. She was being completely serious and relaying the message that Melissa had told her to say to him.

"You can't be serious?!" Eddie said after a moment, sobering up. Loren nodded her head. "Your best friend is insane. I cannot get my dad to close down his club for a birthday party this year." Loren grimaced, knowing that was coming but unhappy that she had to relay this response to Mel later. He didn't say anything about the following year, though, which gave Loren hope.

"What if we did one final concert on the sixteenth of December next year at your dad's club with a very exclusive guest list—only people that Mel wants at the party will be invited and I will pay for it out of the money I will earn off of the album and the tour." Loren said, extending her hand to Eddie. "You, me, our bands, and if you could get a couple of celebrities—maybe not Ryan Gosling, specifically, because she will probably be in love with someone else by then—to come by to take pictures with her and wish her a happy birthday, that would be totally amazing." Eddie just stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head and taking her hand.

"Fine. I will talk to my dad about booking the club for your private party-concert thing. That is all I can promise." He turned to Jake. "Am I free that night?" He said jokingly.

"I guess an intimate concert wouldn't be that big of a deal if we were allowed to publicize it by inviting the press to it." Jake said, scribbling on his tablet with a stylus.

"Oh, Mel would love that. She loves any and all attention." Loren said, clapping her hands. "I can't wait to tell her…" She smiled in gratitude to Eddie. "Thanks." He nodded, running a hand over his face.

"I am only asking my dad about it, because Melissa scares me." Loren laughed. "So, Jake, how many shows were you thinking that we would do in each city?" Eddie asked, turning their attention back to the tour.

"We were thinking of doing three shows in each city on the weekends, and staying in a few of the places for an extra week before moving on. It would allow for the fans to make a trip to see some of the later shows."

"Like which cities?" Loren asked, curious.

"Well, New York City, definitely. Philadelphia, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, and maybe Orlando?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." These were definitely cities that were big for tourism, so the people attending the concert could get a nice vacation in, Loren thought. She couldn't believe that she was going to be on tour for nearly six months straight. "Wow…" She said, shaking her head. "This is really happening."

"Yeah, kid, it is." Kelly laughed, patting Loren's knee again. Loren shook her head.

"This is all kind of surreal, you know? I never thought that this would be happening to me in a million years. Thanks so much," she grinned, looking at everyone, saving Eddie for last. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." Eddie smiled at her. He shifted, leaning towards Loren, giving her a quick, tight hug.

"You are really talented, Loren. Eventually, you are going stop needing to hear me say that." He laughed.

"I doubt that, but thank you." She told him; she felt uncomfortable after the hug, turning away out of embarrassment. After a few more minutes of conversation, everyone stood up to leave.

Loren grabbed her things and waved goodbye to everyone, walking towards the door. She smiled goodbye to Steven as she made her way out the door. As she was walking toward the stairs to exit the building, she felt someone grab her arm. She looked up to see that it was Eddie. "Hi," he said slowly, letting her arm go and walking with her down the stairs. "I just wanted to say sorry to you again." He ran a hand down his face. "I feel like all I do is mess up and make you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Eddie. You are the reason I am even here. I am really grateful to you for allowing me this opportunity." Loren gave him a half smile. "But, it is better this way, you know? Us being colleagues, tour mates, whatever you want to call it. I just got caught up in all of this, and I think you did, too. You and Chloe are great together, and I am not the girl for you. I am just a high school senior who has her whole life being turned upside down. I let myself get so turned around with all of this, and let myself think that there is more here when there isn't. You are a really great guy, but we aren't supposed to be some epic romance." She looked down at her hands, watching as she twisted her fingers. "I think we should start over." Loren said as they reached the bottom of the steps. She held her hand out to him, giving him a small smile. "Hi, my name is Loren Tate. I am a big fan, and I was recently signed as your opening act for your upcoming tour." Eddie looked at her for a moment before he nodded. He kept his eyes locked with hers as he shook her hand.

"It is very nice to meet you, Loren Tate. I look forward to our upcoming tour together."

"Me, too." She started to walk away from him then.

"Loren, this felt like a goodbye." He said quietly, just as she was pulling the door open to leave the building.

"It isn't a goodbye, Eddie." She said as she turned to look at him, still holding the door open. "It is a beginning. It is a beginning to a great working relationship, and I hope that we can still get together to work on music." She looked down for a second before looking back at his face. "Maybe this time we shouldn't be alone, though." She shrugged her shoulder.

"I want us to be friends, Loren. If anything, I want us to be friends. I don't want things to be awkward or uncomfortable between us."

"I don't want that either. I…it is better if we keep this as business for now." Loren gave him a small wave and walked out the door before she did anything stupid, like burying her face into his shoulder in a hug or kiss him or hit him or cry or anything like that. She made her way to the car, calling Tyler and telling him everything that happened that day.

"Oh, Lo," he said when she was done her story. "Are you okay? Do you need me to come by and hang out?"

"No, Mel is on her way over tonight for dinner and to give me what I missed in school today. I will be fine." She said loudly as she spoke to him on speaker phone so that she could focus on driving. "I am looking forward to tomorrow night, though. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking we could get some dinner and then go to MK to dance the night away."

"Really?" Loren laughed, chewing on her bottom lip. "I am not very good at dancing."

"Well, I am a pro, so I can easily teach you some moves." Loren rolled her eyes at the cockiness in Tyler's voice. "And, I figured that MK would be somewhere familiar for you, so you would feel more comfortable. It will be fun, I promise."

"Okay, I trust you." Loren said as she pulled up to her house. "Well, I better go. Mel is probably already here, talking my mom's ear off."

"Alright. Tomorrow night at eight. Bye, Lo."

"Bye, Tyler." She hung up the phone and grabbed her purse, making her way into the house. Sure enough, there was Mel. "Tell me Lisa is letting you sleep over tonight?" Loren said as she pulled Mel and then her mom into a tight hug.

"Duh!" Mel said as the three of them sat down at the kitchen table to begin eating and hearing all about Loren's afternoon.

* * *

Loren was sitting in her room later that night while Mel was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. She was sitting on her bed, her guitar in front of her, while she wrote in her diary about everything that happened that day. She had left out the conversations with Eddie and the significance of the song while she was talking to her mom, but the second that she and Mel had finished their homework and disappeared into Loren's room for the night, she told Mel the rest of the story. Mel had a few choice phrases, but she did say that she had a lot of respect for Eddie to be so honest with Loren. She also said that Loren was a saint for not smacking him, making Loren laugh.

Loren set her diary aside and stood up from her bed, making her way to her desk. It was nearly eleven at night, and she and Mel had school the next day; she knew that she should be getting to sleep, but she felt the need to go on twitter. She didn't know what made her do it, but she did. She sighed as she checked out the tweets.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: RT "PrincessChloeCarter90 Had an amazing dinner with the sexy _theREAL_EddieDuran ; Love you so much babe!_

__theREAL_EddieDuran: Had a great afternoon making plans for my next album and tour! Shows coming to you beginning in late June!_

__theREAL_EddieDuran: BTWs, congratulate me, everyone! Got the awesome Love_To_Love_You to join me on tour! #success #iamtheman _

_PrincessChloeCarter90: Super excited for my talented BF's new tour! _theREAL_EddieDuran Welcome to the family, Love_To_Love_You_

Loren rolled her eyes at Chloe's tweet, thinking that she probably had to throw up or lay down after typing it. She knew that she had to say something, considering that Chloe made a public comment to her. She took a deep breath, about to compose her own tweet when the page indicated that a new tweet had come in. She clocked the button to view it. It was a beautiful picture of the city from what appeared to be Eddie's apartment, with a comment from him.

__theREAL_EddieDuran: this view is the best for thinking; have come to a conclusion: it was a premonition after all_

Loren took a deep breath, glancing at her phone beside her. She wanted to call him, but she knew that it would only make everyone more confused. She grabbed her song book and decided to write about what she was feeling instead. She didn't realize she was crying, but she jumped when Mel laid a hand on Loren's shoulder. She pointed to her computer, going back to her song lyrics. She felt Mel wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Can I hear your song?" She asked when Loren finally set her pen down. She nodded, walking to her bed with the book in her hand and grabbing her guitar. She started strumming it, finding the right sound to go with her new song. She ran through the music a few times, singing the words in her head. Mel sat at Loren's desk, waiting. When Loren looked up, Mel smiled sadly at her.

"I just need a moment." Mel nodded. Loren took a deep breath, and after a few moments, she began playing. She looked down at the songbook in front of her and began to sing the song.

_"I bet this time of night you're still up  
I bet you're tired from a long, hard week  
I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window, looking out at the city  
And I bet sometimes you wonder about me_

_"And I just want to tell you_  
_It takes everything in me not to call you_  
_And I wish I could run to you_  
_And I hope you know that_  
_Every time I don't,_  
_I almost do; I almost do_

_"I bet you think I either moved on or hate you_  
_'Cause each time you reach out there's no reply_  
_I bet it never, ever occurred to you that I can't say hello to you_  
_And risk another goodbye_

_"And I just want to tell you_  
_It takes everything in me not to call you_  
_And I wish I could run to you_  
_And I hope you know that_  
_Every time I don't,_  
_I almost do; I almost do_

_"We made quite a mess, babe_  
_It's probably better off this way_  
_And I confess, baby_  
_That in my dreams you're touching my face_  
_And asking me if I want to try again with you_  
_And I almost do_

_"And I just want to tell you_  
_It takes everything in me not to call you_  
_And I wish I could run to you_  
_And I hope you know that_  
_Every time I don't,_  
_I almost do; I almost do_

_"I bet this time of night you're still up_  
_I bet you're tired from a long, hard week_  
_I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window, looking out at the city_  
_And I hope sometimes you wonder about me._"

Loren took a deep breath and blew it out. Mel walked over to Loren and pulled her into a tight hug, with Loren hugging her tightly back. "Lo, I wish that you weren't hurting."

"I just want to get over him." She said, tears spilling from her eyes as she buried her face into Mel's neck. "I don't want to feel hurt anymore. I don't want to be this girl, but he broke my heart. I convinced myself that I shouldn't be with him, but I let myself feel something when it seemed like he was interested."

"He was interested, Lo," Mel whispered, running a comforting hand up and down Loren's back.

"Not enough to want to be with me."

"I want you to know that I love you and I am on your side in everything," Mel said to her. She pulled away from Loren enough to look her in the eye. "But, imagine being in his position. You have been in a relationship with someone for two years and you are in love; you two are going through a tough time at the moment, and then you meet this amazing guy who you feel a great connection with and you become friends with. But, you are in love with your boyfriend, and you don't know how you really feel about this new guy. You are feeling conflicted and confused, and you let yourself do something that only makes everything more confusing for you. You realize this and you also realize that you hurt this other person, because you aren't sure what you want. You made a mistake, because you hurt that other person while you don't know what you want." Loren wiped at her cheeks, nodding her head. The mistake that Eddie was talking about when he was talking to Jake was because he kissed her when he was still confused, when he was still with Chloe, when he knew that he only made it confusing for Loren. If the circumstances were different, the kiss might have resulted in something vastly different, but the circumstances aren't different, and this is how things are. "Now, don't get me wrong, I still think he is a jackass who keeps dragging your heart through the dirt for writing songs about making a mistake of not going after you and then later telling you that he cares about you, but not enough to break things off with Chloe. But, I still can understand part of his side of things."

"I know! I can, too, Mel, but it still doesn't mean that I am not hurting. I think he is a genuinely good person who is just being honest about his feelings, but he doesn't realize that he is inadvertently hurting me. I just need to get over him."

"Yes, and tomorrow night you will do just that." Loren crinkled her brow as she stared at Mel. "You are going out dinner with Tyler, and then you guys are going dancing. I am not saying that Tyler is anything more than a friend, but while you are out, you are going to dance and flirt and have fun, forgetting about all of the drama with Eddie. Go to the club with the mindset that Eddie doesn't control your life or your heart or your head. Go there knowing that you are going to have fun, and you are young, with your whole life ahead of you." Loren nodded her head.

"Yeah, you are right," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I am going to do my best to get over him tomorrow."

"Good. I love you, Lo, and I want you to be happy. You aren't in love with Eddie. You don't belong to Eddie. You are Loren Elizabeth Tate, a newly signed recording artist with her whole life ahead of her to fall in and out of love over and over again, as many times as you want. You are eighteen years old, and you are going to let yourself have one last night to feel any pain toward Eddie Duran. Then, you are going to snap out of it and just see him as a friend. Now, it is time for bed. I am exhausted!" Loren gave Mel one last hug before she quickly packed away all of her stuff and climbed into her bed beside Mel, ready to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be last day that she was going to feel bad about not being with Eddie Duran.


	12. Chapter 12

**Somebody**

**Chapter 12**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Tonight, I'm Getting Over You**_** by Carly Rae Jepsen**

**Author's Note: I know that it has been awhile since I last updated, but I had to prepare for and take finals, and then my sister had surgery, so I moved into her house while she convalesced. I appreciate that you guys love my story, but please stop the reviews that tell me how long it has been since I have updated. I know how long it has been. It is a little frustrating for me, because I have been really busy, and I am going to be really busy more often than not. Believe me when I say that I would love to write this story as much as possible, but I can't always update when you or I want me to. **

**A couple of you have been asking about the songs I chose for the story. Typically, I pick songs that have a similar sound that fit the storyline of the story. Sometimes, I have to adapt the chapter slightly to better fit the song. For example, I adapted the chapter to fit **_**Begin Again **_**by setting the story on a Wednesday and having Eddie start talking to Loren about Christmas traditions, because that is the way that the song lyrics went. Usually, I don't have to adapt the chapter at all, because the song is close enough to what I want it to be for the story. **

**A MAJOR shout-out to my guest reviewer, Karen, who suggested this song to me a few chapters ago! I searched it out the second I read your review, and I fell in love with it immediately! It is so perfect for the story. I am sorry that I didn't thank you for it sooner, but I needed to get to the part where it fit perfectly.**

* * *

When Loren woke up in the morning, she realized she never tweeted her thank you to Chloe and Eddie, so she carefully extracted herself from her bed without disturbing Mel. She made her way to her laptop and opened it, yawning as she waited for it to load. She glanced at the time on her bedside table from over her shoulder and saw that she was up about thirty minutes before her arm would have gone off. She focused her attention back onto her computer, loading up twitter when she signed online. She saw that a lot of people had retweeted Eddie's tweets about the tour and her joining him, as well as the tweet from Chloe. She also saw that she and Eddie were trending again, less on the romantic side and more along the lines of people being excited to see Leddie in concert. Loren took a moment to think about what she wanted to say before composing several new tweets.

_Love_To_Love_You: Had an amazing afternoon yesterday signing contracts and talking albums and tours with _theREAL_EddieDuran and company #iamsolucky_

_Love_To_Love_You: Holy crap! I am going to be a recording artist! #mindisblown #nowords #shocked _

_Love_To_Love_You: _theREAL_EddieDuran, thank you for letting me have the opportunity to open for you! I am so excited for our tour!_

_Love_To_Love_You: Thanks so much for your warm words, PrincessChloeCarter90 _

She thought that her tweet to Chloe sounded genuine, organic, and just as much fake as Chloe's was. Her phone buzzed with a good morning text from Tyler, which made her smile. Loren was sick of waking up feeling emotionally exhausted, so she decided that tonight was the night she was going to snap out of it all and feel better. She carefully made her way into the bathroom to begin getting ready for the day. Mel awoke just as Loren was leaving the bathroom, wrapped tightly in her towel. She waved to Loren, yawning as she stumbled into the bathroom, shutting the door loudly. Loren laughed, knowing that Mel was not a morning person at all.

As per usual since Eddie and she began communicating via twitter, school was awkward for Loren. Everyone was staring and whispering about her, like always, but this time they were discussing the tour, rather than Loren's relationship status with Tyler and Eddie. Only a few people dared to come up to her and ask whether or not the tour stuff was true. When she told them that it was, they always asked for free tickets to the shows. Loren would roll her eyes and walk away then, because she probably didn't get too many free tickets, since the whole point of having concerts was for people to buy the tickets so that she can get paid. Any free tickets that she could offer would go straight to her Mom, Mel, Adam, and Cameron (although, he doesn't like her style of music much, so he probably wouldn't go).

Adrianna, of course, had to make a snotty comment about how Loren was probably going to get fired long before the tour began; she said that Eddie and the guys at the label would finally wake up and realize that Loren has no talent and will fail miserably in the music business. Loren's only response to Adrianna was to tell her to shut up and that she was just jealous that she didn't have any talent and that she wished that she was friends with Eddie and Tyler. Loren felt stupid and petty after that comment, though, which she hated. She hated dropping down to the same level as Adrianna and her other 'haters.'

Loren felt mentally exhausted by the time that school had ended; while she was so amazed and grateful that she had this opportunity, Loren wished that she could be a normal girl again. She just wanted to be eighteen and that her only worries were about college, fights with her mom and Mel, and who she was going to go to prom with. Instead, she had to worry about writing new songs, getting over the guy of her dreams, having her personal life dissected and discussed constantly, recording an album, doing press for an album, finding out whether or not her album is going to flop, and going on tour for just about six months. Loren tried to keep herself busy, because when she had a moment to actually think about everything and how much her life had changed and how much it will continue to change, it left her feeling breathless, overwhelmed, and scared out of her mind. She didn't know if she could do this. The only thing that was getting her through this day was the idea of hanging out with Tyler that night.

The club scene was definitely _not_ Loren; she had a fake id—Mel had gotten Phil to make them for them when they turned sixteen—so she didn't have any concerns about getting into MK, especially since she had performed there, been interviewed there, and even participated in Eddie's music video there. She was sure that Max Duran liked her and would let her into the club even though she was only eighteen. It isn't like she was going to drink anyways. She and Tyler were just going to hang out, dance, and listen to music. It was just supposed to be harmless fun that allowed Loren to let loose and get over the drama with Eddie.

Not only was the club scene not Loren's style, but she was also concerned that Eddie and Chloe would be there—it seemed likely to her that she was going to see them there, considering that MK was owned by Eddie's father. Loren didn't want to deal with Eddie/Tyler, Tyler/Chloe, Chloe/Loren drama, _and_ Loren/Eddie drama. The four of them in the same room would be emotionally draining, and Loren would probably shrivel up like a prune, she would sweat so much from the anxiety. This is definitely one of the moments that left her wishing for normalcy again.

Mel helped Loren get ready for the club that night. She made Loren shower and shave for the second time that day to make sure that she was completely smooth in all the right places. She curled Loren's hair into loose, beachy wave-curls and expertly applied Loren's makeup so that her eyes were a mixture of white and light gold shades with black eyeliner and mascara. The light eye makeup drew attention to Loren's cherry-red glossed lips. Mel then proceeded to paint Loren's fingernails and toenails a similar bright red shade. Loren's outfit, also picked out by Mel included a pair of knee-high black boots with two-inch heels, a tight white mini-skirt that Loren had worn for her slutty angel Halloween costume the previous year, and a black lace tank top. Mel insisted that the bit of red in her lips and on her nails would stand out if Loren wore chunky red, white, and black bangle bracelets and the matching chunky necklace; Mel also stated that Loren should carry a bright red clutch purse with her that barely fit her cell phone, some cash, breath mints, and the same tube of lip gloss that Mel had applied to her lips earlier in the evening. Loren felt a little trashy, considering that the mini-skirt fell a little shorter than mid-thigh and was tight enough that Loren had to wear a white thong to avoid panty-lines.

"You look so amazing, Lo." Mel told her as she insisted that Loren spin around in a circle for her. Loren did as she was told, blushing at both Mel's praise and the revealing nature of the outfit.

"Mel, I don't know…this isn't me." Loren frowned, studying herself in the mirror. She didn't look like this normally. She didn't dress in short skirts that showed off large portions of her body. She prided herself on being classier than this.

"Fine, you can change, but why not step outside of the box for once in your life. You dress so conservatively normally; I just would love to see you outside of your comfort zone for once. Beside, you want to look hot so that you can find a really good looking guy to flirt with and maybe make out with."

"I am not going to make out with some stranger, Mel."

"Of course not! You wouldn't be you if you didn't ask for his name first." Loren rolled her eyes, muttering to herself about how lame Mel's joke was.

"Seriously, I don't want to be made out as some tramp by the gossip rags."

"You won't be, Lo. I swear. You look hot, but in no way trampy."

"I better not…" She muttered before studying herself in the mirror one last time before grabbing her clutch purse and making her way to the living room. Nora was off with Don again, so it was just Loren and Mel while they waited for Tyler to arrive to pick her up. "I wish you were going, too, Mel. I feel like I will need my best friend tonight."

"I know! I wish that I could be there, but Lisa has me on lockdown, because Phil did something dumb and got away with it, which means her anger and frustration had to be released somewhere—or, rather, towards someone. I will bet there in spirit, though."

"That is all that matters…I just…am I wearing the right thing? I don't want people to think that Tyler and I are on a date."

"But, you are on a date…what! Don't look at me like that, Lo!" Mel pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Honestly, Lo, if you don't realize that this isn't a date, then you are bat-shit, my friend. You two might have started out friends, but the second you decided to hang out with him alone in a date-like atmosphere, it became a dating relationship. You two might not fall in love, get married, or start popping out babies, but you two are most definitely going on a date." Loren smacked Mel's upper arm.

"This is isn't a date!" Loren insisted. She made her way out of her room and into the living room to model the outfit for her mom. "Isn't this a little much?" She asked Nora, hoping that her mother would insist that she go change.

"Oh, honey! You look beautiful…" Nora trailed off, biting her bottom lip. Loren knew she was uncomfortable with just how much skin she was showing.

"But!?" Loren prodded, pleading with her mom to say it was too short, too slutty, too something, so that Loren had to go change.

"There is no but. You look great, really; I got over how short that skirt was on you when you wore it for Halloween last year. I just…it just isn't my favorite thing in the world to see how grown up you are."

"You don't think I look too…something?"

"No, you look great. Well, to be honest, I am with the traditional Muslim women who wear burkas, but I know that you are a young woman who is growing up and growing into your body. You look really great, and while I hope that you don't start wearing this out in public all the time, it is fine for going to a club." Nora walked over to Loren and hugged her. "Just, don't make too much of a habit going to the clubs. I can't take it…" Loren nodded her head. Nora pulled out of the hug. "Well, at least if you do go to the club, bring me along next time." Nora joked, making Mel and Loren giggle.

"I just…I know this is a club going outfit," Loren began, looking down at her body once again. "But, I don't think it is me. I think I am uncomfortable showing off so much skin."

"If you are really that uncomfortable, then go change, Lo." Mel insisted. "I think you look fine. This is essentially the same amount of clothes you wore on stage at MK." Loren nodded her head, knowing that was true. At the same time, though, she had felt a little uncomfortable in that dress.

"I know. It wasn't my favorite, but that dress was the least revealing of the rest." Loren sighed, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "I just don't want to make a habit of wearing such revealing clothing. That is not the kind of image that I want to have."

"You want to be more Taylor and less Ke$ha." Mel agreed. "But, you have to remember that sexiness is okay without being slutty, and you don't look slutty. At all. You look like a girl who is going to go to a club with a guy and dance the night away."

"Okay. I will wear this tonight, but tomorrow, I am going to look like a demure, innocent girl that I am in case I get photographed around town."

"Oh? Someone thinks she is more important than she is…" Mel mumbled to Nora, and the two of them began to giggle. Loren stuck her tongue out at them and walked away from them to her living room. She opened the clutch to grab her cell phone to glance at the time. Her phone buzzed in her hand just as she grabbed hold of it and saw that it was Tyler calling her. She grinned, accepting the call and pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Tyler."

"Hey, Lo. I am almost at your house. You ready?"

"Yup. Please ignore the trampy outfit—Mel dressed me." Loren joked as she glanced out the window. True to his word, Loren saw some headlights flash into the driveway as a car pulled into it.

"Well, I am certainly looking forward to it. Now get your cute ass out here, missy." Loren rolled her eyes and couldn't help the grin that erupted on her face.

"Fine! Meany." She said as she hung up the phone. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Mel!" She called out to them and grabbed her keys from the coffee table and slipped them into her clutch with her phone before heading out the door.

Tyler climbed out of the car and walked around it to hug her and kiss her cheek. He grabbed both of her hands in his and took a couple of steps back, running his eyes up and down her body in a fashion that was most definitely not platonic. He wolf-whistled and shook his head, finally bringing his eyes back to hers. Loren cocked an eyebrow at him. "You look hot as shit." Tyler said, pulling her into another hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I am going to have to beat up a lot of guys tonight; I can't blame them though, because you look amazing," he whispered into her ear. Loren blushed, looking at her feet as he pulled away from her and guided her to the passenger seat with a hand on her lower back. Maybe Mel was right—this is turning into a date.

Tyler helped her into the car and then walked around the front to climb into the driver's seat. Loren took a moment to study him. He was dressed in a black t-shirt that was tight enough to show off his toned body and a nice pair of jeans. On his feet was a pair of black sneakers. Loren thought he looked great, and she told him so when he started the car. "I just hate that guys can get away with wearing a casual outfit and having it still look sexy and perfect for the club."

"You think I'm sexy?" Tyler grinned as he backed out of her driveway. Loren blushed again, which made him laugh and wink at her.

"You know what I mean!" Loren said, looking away and out her window. She was trying her hardest not bite her lip so that she didn't have to reapply her lip gloss. "I just meant that guys can get away with anything and still look good, but _this_ took me about an hour and half to do." She said, waving her hand over her body. Tyler laughed.

"Well, it was well-worth it, because you look outstanding."

"Thanks…" Loren told him. She hummed along with the radio as they drove to MK. Loren took advantage of their comfortable silence to think about what was going on between her and Tyler. She loved having him as a friend, and she didn't want to ruin another friendship with an aborted romance. She just wanted things between her and Tyler to stay the same, because she had just lost a close friend in Eddie because she let her head get too wrapped up in the romantic possibilities. She decided that she would keep everything completely friendly between the two of them from now on—just not too friendly.

When they arrived at the club, Loren and Tyler kept their heads down as they avoided the glare of the paparazzi camera flashes. Tyler walked in front of her Loren, holding her hand as he walked her into the club. Loren hoped that they didn't realize it was her, because she was still so new to the business that they wouldn't recognize her yet. She didn't need the rumors swirling even before the night started. When they finally got into the club, Tyler immediately pulled Loren to the dance floor. She laughed, throwing her head back as she rocked her hips to some techno song. Tyler made sure that he held one of her hands the entire time that they danced.

About an hour into their arrival at the club, Loren began to feel parched. "I need a drink!" She said, leaning into Tyler so that he could hear her over the pounding bass.

"Sounds good! I am gonna stop by the little boys' room; I will meet you at the bar."

"Do you want me to order you something?" Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "Do you want a beer?"

"I…I didn't plan on drinking since you can't, so…" Tyler shrugged.

"It is fine! Seriously. I can drive home." Loren told him. "Do you have a preference?"

"Not really. Whatever is on tap, I guess. Thanks for being cool, Lo."

"It isn't that big of a deal. You are twenty-four; you are allowed to drink." Loren shooed him in the direction of the bathroom and walked toward the bar. She grinned when she saw Grace behind it. "Hey, Grace."

"Hey, Loren! You look amazing."

"Thanks."

"Is Eddie here?" Loren bit her lip and shook her head, running a hand through her hair, which was holding up pretty well, considering she was sweating from all of the dancing.

"No, I am here with Tyler, actually." Loren told her. She ignored the look of confusion and slight disgust on Grace's face. No one in Eddie's camp liked Tyler at all. "He is helping me dance off all the stress and stuff that I have been going through lately. He is a great friend."

"So, what can I get you?"

"Um, an unsweetened ice tea with lemon, please. Oh, and I know that technically can't order this, but Tyler would like whatever kind of beer you have on tap for when he gets out of the bathroom."

"Okay," Grace turned away to began preparing Loren's iced tea. As Loren waited, an attractive guy came up to the bar beside her. He had blond hair and gray eyes; he looked like he was about twenty-three or so, and he flashed Loren a smile that said, 'we are both hot, so I say we start making babies.' Loren gave him a small smile back, but turned her head toward the bathrooms to see if Tyler was coming. She really didn't want to be hit on by a stranger.

"M'name's Sean." The guy said, extending his hand to Loren. She turned her attention to the guy, smiling and shaking his hand.

"Loren."

"Nice to meet you, Loren. May I buy you a drink?" He asked her. Just then Grace placed the ice tea down in front of Loren. "Here, let me pay for that, and I will take a gin and tonic on the rocks, light on the tonic and the rocks, please." He pulled out his wallet and carefully thumbed out a twenty from the wad of bills he carried. He was trying to show that he had lots of money on him, because he figured Loren was the club-bunny type who was looking for a guy to blow a bunch of money on her before going home with him.

"Her drinks are free." Grace said, as she began preparing the gin and tonic.

"What?" Loren asked, shocked. "I can pay for my own drinks, Grace." Loren grabbed her clutch and started to take out some money for hers and Tyler's drinks.

"Max gave us all explicit instructions that you are to get everything you want for free." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Is he here? I would like to have a word with him. He is crazy.

"You know Max…as in Max Duran?" The guy asked shocked, taking a sip of the drink that Grace had set in front of him.

"Yeah, but not well—not well enough that he should feel obligated to give me free drinks." She turned her attention to Grace. "Seriously, is he here tonight? At least let me pay for Tyler's?"

"I think he is upstairs in his apartment." Grace laughed, leaning against the bar. "You are more than welcome to go up there and give him a piece of your mind, but it isn't going to change anything, and you know it." Loren pouted. "But, I can't take your money for Tyler's for the obvious reason." Loren nodded her head and chewed on her bottom lip.

"He is too nice. We only just met." She said as Tyler walked up. He leaned over and brushed his lips along Loren's cheek and sat on the stool beside Loren, resting his hand at her lower back. She glanced up at him. Grace put a beer in front of Tyler.

"Who is too nice? Eddie?" Tyler asked, taking a sip of the beer.

"Max. Apparently, all of my drinks are free." Loren told him.

"Really?" His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yeah, but yours isn't." Grace told him, holding out her hand. Tyler laughed, pulling out his wallet. He handed Grace a ten dollar bill. Tyler turned his attention to Sean, still seated beside Loren.

"I'm Tyler." He held his hand out to him.

"Sean. I didn't know she had a boyfriend, dude. Sorry." Sean said, turning his attention to Loren. "You should really tell guys who offer to buy you drinks that you are dating someone."

"He's not my boyfriend." Loren said quickly, running a hand through her hair, embarrassed. Too many people have asked about hers and Tyler's relationship status; it was getting her flustered.

"Really?" Sean asked, looking pointedly at the hand on Loren's lower back. Tyler's mouth twitched momentarily, and he slowly moved his hand from Loren's lower back to pick up his beer and take a sip.

"Yeah, just friends…" He said when he finally put the beer back down on the bar. Grace quirked an eyebrow at him, and Loren's brow furrowed when she heard how tense Tyler sounded.

"Did you maybe want to dance, then, Loren?" Sean asked her, swallowing the last drink, which was probably primarily gin. She glanced at Tyler, who was staring down into his beer, obviously perturbed. His jaw was tense and his shoulders were hunched slightly as he leaned toward the bar, resting his elbows on the bar.

"I think I am fine for now, Sean. I need to take a break and rehydrate." She told him. The guy was cute, but Tyler obviously didn't want her to go off with some stranger. She didn't really want to, either, but she did that originally with Tyler, so she didn't think it was because he was nervous about her safety or anything. She didn't know what to make of Tyler's behavior—she did notice that when she shot down Sean, his body visibly relaxed. Sean nodded standing up and moving away from the bar.

Loren and Tyler sipped their drinks in silence for awhile, just taking in the crowd of people drinking and dancing in the club. After awhile, Loren turned her attention back to Tyler. "So, should we go back to dancing?" She flashed him a big smile. "You did a good job at letting me forget just how terrible of a dancer I am." Tyler laughed, swallowing the last of his beer and hoping off of the stool and holding his hand to Loren. She grabbed it, climbing off of her stool. She waved goodbye to Grace and followed Tyler to the dance floor. They proceeded to dance for another hour before Loren got thirsty again. They made their way back to the bar, and Tyler ordered another beer, whereas Loren got water instead. They sat at the bar and talked about Loren's upcoming school projects and plans she had made with Mel and Adam. They talked about Tyler's character on the show and some of the things that he would like to see Detective Danielson to go through. Tyler joked about Loren making a guest appearance on the show, which made Loren laugh.

"I don't know about that. I am not sure if I can act." Loren grimaced as she sipped the new water that Grace set down before her.

"It isn't that hard, at all. You seem like a natural performer, so acting and modeling will come with the singing thing."

"And dancing?" Loren asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Well, that you need to work on a lot more…I suggest taking many dance classes with your personal dance teacher, one Tyler Rorke." She laughed, nodding her head.

"You are a great dance teacher. Thank you for your wisdom." She joked back. Tyler sipped his third beer of the night, studying Loren.

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, I am having a great time. I love spending time with you, Tyler. You really have been helping get my mind off of everything."

"Good. That is what I wanted to hear." Tyler grinned. They finished their drinks, and Loren excused herself to run to the ladies' room. While she peed, she overheard an interesting conversation.

"Jess, did you see Tyler and that Loren girl practically dry-humping on the dance floor tonight." One girl said. Her voice was higher pitched and a little breathy; Loren couldn't tell if it was her natural voice of if she was just trying to sound more feminine than she is. "Oh, I love that gloss. Can I use it?"

"Sure." The other girl, Jess, said; her voice was a little deeper and sounded more natural to Loren. "They were hardly touching, Kate. I honestly don't believe that they are dating."

"But, if she isn't dating him, then does that mean she is dating Eddie on the sly?" Kate said. Loren finished her business and readjusted her skirt slowly, trying to avoid flushing the toilet until she heard what Jess's response was.

"Probably. I mean, all those tweets back and forth definitely screamed slutty affair while Chloe was off doing whatever."

"Yeah, and her songs are obviously about him. They have probably known each other for awhile, and decided to act like they didn't know each other until recently."

"Seriously! Like that cryptic tweet about someone leaving fourteen years ago. Obviously about Eddie. I mean, she is obviously talking about a time they met as kids and then his parents moved and toured or something." Loren rolled her eyes, flushing the toilet and exiting the stall, marching to the empty sink between the two girls and began washing her hands.

"You two are idiots." Loren told them seriously. "The tweet about someone leaving fourteen years ago was about my father leaving my mom and me when I was four." She rolled her eyes again, reapplying her lip gloss and running her hands through her hair to get rid of some of the tangles from dancing. "I am dating neither Eddie nor Tyler. I met Eddie on September eighth, and I only met Tyler about a week ago. I am just friends with both of them. Eddie is totally happy with his girlfriend. Get over yourselves. You don't know anything about what you are talking about, and yet you insist on discussing it as if you did. I would appreciate it if you guys stopped discussing my personal life. Thanks." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them for a few moments longer before storming out of the bathroom.

Loren returned to Tyler, who was chatting with a couple of people near the dance floor. She pointed toward the dance floor and waded into the crowd, dancing with a couple of dancers she recognized from Eddie's music video. She felt a male body come up behind her and begin dance against her body. She closed her eyes and danced against him, knowing from the smell and feel of him that he wasn't Tyler. She just wanted to forget about Eddie and the world, so she didn't care about dancing with a stranger. After a few moments, Loren pulled away from the stranger to dance in the middle of two of the girls from the music video. They welcomed her into their group, and Loren let herself get absorbed into the music.

She saw the guy she had met at the bar earlier in the night enter the crowed. She smiled and beckoned him over, and the two of them began dancing. She rocked her hips against him, leaning her back against his chest, one arm raised and wrapped around Sean's neck. The club was pounding with the sound of the bass from whatever techno song was playing at that moment. She laughed at the joke that Sean said about some guy's spastic dance moves and how the girl he was trying to dance with tried to run away from him several times, but he always seemed to find her. Loren glanced toward Tyler who was leaning his back against the bar, a beer in his hand, watching Loren dance with a bunch of people in the crowd. She grinned at him, keeping her eyes locked on his as she danced with Sean and the girls from the music video.

Tyler finished his drink and left the empty glass on the bar and began to make his way over to Loren. He held out his hand to her, and she grinned, stepping away from Sean and began to dance with Tyler again. She laughed as Tyler spun her around and dipped her over his arm. She could tell that Sean was a little pissed that she had left him, but he made himself feel better as he began dancing with some random blond girl nearby. Loren turned herself in Tyler's arms, dancing against him so that she was facing the entrance of the club. It was then that she saw Eddie. Chloe was on texting on her phone and talking to some redhead, but Eddie had his eyes locked with Loren's. She didn't know how long he was standing there, but Loren decided that she didn't care anymore. She wanted to have fun and move on from the drama with Eddie. She gave him a small smile before turning around and wrapping an arm around Tyler's neck. She reached out and grabbed the hand of one of the dancers from the video—Casey? Cassie?—and pulled her over to them. The blond dancer began dancing against Loren and Tyler, and Loren knew that Eddie could no longer see her as she carefully moved them deeper into the crowd.

After about another half hour of dancing, Loren was breathless and needed air. She was sure that she was dripping in sweat, and she felt like she needed to get out of the crowd of people. "Water!" She gasped out to Tyler, fanning herself. Tyler grinned, grabbing Loren's hand and pulling her toward the bar again.

"Hey, guys! Loren, you look like you could use another drink." Grace laughed, filling a glass with ice cold water.

"You are a goddess!" Loren grabbed the glass and chugged it, feeling a lot better now that she had cooled down. "Thanks, but I need another." She laughed. Grace nodded, handing over the beer she had poured for Tyler and then took Loren's glass again to refill it.

"Loren Tate!" She glanced up and smiled when she laid her eyes on Max. He made his way over to her. When he reached out to hug her, Loren shook her head.

"I am a sweaty mess right now. You don't want to touch me." Max laughed, extending his hand for her to shake instead. Loren shook his hand and then narrowed her eyes at him. "You shouldn't be giving me free drinks, Max."

"Oh, hush!" Max turned and smiled carefully at Tyler. "Tyler."

"Max, hello." Max glared at Tyler for a moment before turning his gaze onto Loren.

"Don't look at me like a concerned dad, Max. Tyler and I are friends, and I am not going to stop being friends with him just because you and everyone on Team Eddie don't like him. Besides, you should probably like him due to all the trouble he causes between Eddie and Chloe." Max's mouth twitched as he tried to hold back a smile.

"I am sorry I am getting protective, Loren, but you are a sweetheart, and I want to make sure you are happy and don't get hurt. As for the drama that Tyler causes for Eddie and Chloe…I do admit that I enjoy that." He whispered to her, making Loren laugh.

"Pops!" Eddie came up, slapping Max on the back in greeting. "Loren…Tyler." His voice was strained when he greeted Tyler, who nodded once and took a sip of his beer and sitting down on the stool, trying to bite his tongue. Loren silently thanked him by smiling at Tyler.

"Hey, Eddie." She said, turning her attention back to him. "You look great tonight. I was just telling your dad how he shouldn't be giving me free drinks, since we hardly know each other, but he is ignoring me."

"Of course he isn't going to make you pay, Loren. You are my opening act now—practically family." Loren licked her lips and took a sip of her water, looking away from him for a moment. "You looked like you were having fun on the dance floor."

"I was. Tyler is a great dance teacher," Loren laughed, running a hand through her hair. "I promise you both that I had two left feet at the beginning of the night."

"Oh, I don't believe that." Max laughed, taking the beer from Grace and taking a sip of it.

"Believe it!" Tyler laughed, pretending to wince as he leaned down to rub the top of one of his feet. "My feet are probably bruised and broken or something." Loren scrunched her nose and reached over to smack Tyler's upper arm. Tyler laughed, grabbing Loren's hand and squeezing it for a moment before releasing it again. Loren felt like her hand was about to fall off considering the way that Eddie was staring at it.

"I wasn't that bad," Loren said, running her finger along the rim of her water glass. "He is a liar."

"You were great, Lo. You had that guy from the bar drooling." Loren groaned, shaking her head.

"Sean is a nice guy! Would you stop being mean about it!?" She said, rolling her eyes.

"He didn't know Lo was friends with such lofty people. He was quaking in his boots when I walked up to her. 'I didn't know she had a boyfriend! You should really tell people you are dating someone, Loren!'" Tyler joked, paraphrasing what Sean had said.

"Stop! He was nice!"

"He was trying to get in your pants." Tyler said, knocking his beer against Loren's water glass.

"Oh, shut up!" She turned her attention back to Max and Eddie. "Tyler is such a toddler. I just can't take him anywhere." She opened her clutch to check the time on her phone. She saw that it was nearly one in the morning. "Alright, this Cinderella better make her exit." She dropped her phone into her clutch again and then extended her hand to Tyler. Tyler smacked her hand with his, chuckling. "Funny! Keys, please." Tyler dug his hand into his pocket and dropped his keys into Loren's hand.

"Let's go, D.D.!" He jumped off the stool and extended his hand to Max and then to Eddie. Max took a moment before shaking Tyler's hand. Eddie just stared at it for a moment, before focusing on Loren.

"May I talk to you for a second?" Loren nodded, holding a finger up to Tyler and following Eddie toward a more secluded corner of the club. "Is Tyler your boyfriend?" Loren took a deep breath and blew it out. She then leveled her eyes on Eddie's.

"No, he isn't. He and I are just friends. But, honestly, Eddie, you can't keep asking me things like that. You made a choice to be with Chloe. I am honestly over all the drama. I just want to move on from everything that happened and focus on the tour and my album and getting back to being friends." Loren felt a little better tonight, and she didn't want to get bogged down by bad feelings anymore.

"Me, too. But, as your friend, I think I am allowed to ask you what is going on in your personal life. I am allowed to wonder if you are seeing anyone. As your friend, I want to make sure that you aren't going to get hurt." Loren rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry. Tyler isn't hurting me at all. In fact, he is becoming one of my best friends."

"He is in love with Chloe—obsessed with her. You need to be careful around him."

"Eddie, stop! Yes, he cares about Chloe. He loves her a lot, but he isn't obsessed with her. I am actually helping him get over her."

"How are you doing that?"

"Anytime he feels like he needs to call Chloe or misses her or something, he calls or texts me. Things are going well for him, and it has only been a week. He should be over her soon enough." Eddie's jaw tensed. She figured that he knew that she was using Tyler to do the same thing—to get over Eddie.

"Just…be careful." Loren nodded her head and walked away from Eddie, making her way toward Tyler again. She grabbed his hand, waving goodbye to Max and Grace, making her way out of the club, with Tyler trailing. They ignored the paparazzi, continuing to where they parked, with Loren climbing in the driver's seat instead of the passenger seat.

"Tyler, where do you live?" She asked, grabbing her phone and getting ready call her mom. Tyler told her, and she called her mom, asking her to pick her up from Tyler's place. "He had a few drinks tonight, so I told him that I would drive him home."

"Oh, God! Your mom is going to think that I am a drunk." He said when Loren hung up the phone. Loren shook her head.

"No, she doesn't. She knows that it is the responsible thing to do for me to drive home, and she will appreciate that you didn't attempt to drive me home when you have had a few drinks."

"But, she will be pissed that I drank at all when I was out with you."

"She knows that you are older than me." Loren said as she drove toward Tyler's apartment. "It isn't that big of a deal."

"I shouldn't have had alcohol at all."

"It's not like you drank an entire bottle of Jack Daniels or something. You had four or five beers."

"Yeah, well, I am buzzed enough to know that I definitely shouldn't have had the last one." Tyler groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Get over it. You are twenty-four years old, and you are allowed to drink." She glanced at him and smiled before focusing back on the road. "Thanks for tonight. I think it was exactly what I needed to get over Eddie."

"What? To dance with a bunch of drunk people?" Tyler laughed. "I am glad that I could help out, though."

"I just meant that I realized I am sick of being Eddie's lapdog, you know? I just want to have fun and enjoy this whole experience. I am not going to cry and mope about him choosing Chloe over me anymore. I danced the night away, and I realized that there are other fish in the sea."

"Like, who? That Sean guy?"

"Not Sean specifically, but yes, there are other guys out there that I could date if I wanted to. I realized that I have so much to look forward to, and I am only eighteen. I should go out and date and have fun. Right?"

"Right." Tyler reached over and rubbed Loren's arm. "Just make sure that you leave time for your friends." He said, dropping his hands into his lap and leaning back against the seat. He pointed out the alley driveway beside his apartment building for Loren to turn into. She pulled down the driveway to the back of the building where there were parking spaces for the apartment complex's inhabitants. She parked in one of the empty spots, and they climbed out of the car.

"Of course I will make time for you." Loren said, walking over to Tyler and handing him the car keys after she hit the automatic door lock button. She looped her arm in his, and they walked back up the driveway to the street to wait for Nora. Loren felt the goose bumps erupt on her arms and legs as a slight breeze began to pick up. She began rubbing her arms.

"C'mon." Tyler grabbed her hand and walked over to the stairs that led to the street entrance of the apartment complex. He sat down on the edge of one of the stairs and pulled Loren down so that she was seated on the stair below his. She found that when she leaned back against his chest, his body caged in much of their body heat, which made her instantly feel warmer. "Better?" Tyler said as he leaned down over her shoulder to talk in her ear.

Loren bit her lip, feeling that the night was a lot less friendly and a lot more romantic. She nodded her head. "Much…" She whispered. She turned her body slightly to settle more into the crook of Tyler's right arm and leg. "I know I already said this, but thank you so much for tonight. You are so awesome for hanging out with me and being there for me." She said softly.

"Loren, I want you to understand something." Tyler said, grabbing one of Loren's hands in his right hand, interlacing their fingers. Loren didn't dare look at his face, so she just looked at his hands. "I am not just hanging out with you because I am trying to get over Chloe or because I feel bad that Eddie stomped all over your heart." He released her hand and tipped her chin up to look her in the eyes. "I am hanging out with you, because I genuinely like you as a person, and I care about you. I want to be a part of your life, and I have no plans of ending this friendship anytime soon." Loren smiled. She shifted her body so that she was kneeling on the step rather than sitting on it, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Good, because I have no intention of giving this friendship up anytime soon!" She pressed a kiss to Tyler's cheek before breaking the hug and settling back to her original position of her back pressed against his chest, caged in his arms and legs. The goose bumps came back as she felt Tyler stroked his fingers up and down her left arm, but she didn't draw attention to it, because it felt good, and she wasn't sure that she wanted him to stop.

After awhile, she noticed that there were camera flashes coming from across the street. She groaned, pulling away from Tyler to dig into her clutch for her phone to check in with her mom. "Stupid paparazzi." She muttered as she stood up and walked to the street, the phone pressed to her ear, ringing.

"Yeah, they know when to ruin a moment." Tyler said, standing up and running a hand through his hair. Loren smiled at him sadly. Her mom picked up saying that she was driving up the street now.

"Okay, see you in a few." Loren hung up the phone and turned to Tyler. "She is almost here. Thanks again for tonight. I had so much fun." She pulled him into a tight hug, kissing his cheek again. "Have a good night, Tyler."

"Thank you for tonight, Loren." Tyler said as they pulled out of the hug. "You are helping me more than you realize. Sweet dreams…" She grinned at him and turned just as her mom pulled up. She waved as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

As they drove off, Loren studied her hands in her lap, biting her lip and smiling to herself. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was so much fun to just dance and laugh and talk and have fun." Loren told Nora as they drove towards home. "Thanks for coming to pick me up; I am sorry if I woke you."

"No, I was still awake." Loren cocked an eyebrow at Nora. "Well, my daughter went out to a club with an older man who is a complete stranger to me and didn't call me until nearly one in the morning. Of course I was still up, Loren."

"Mom..." Loren hated it anytime that Nora questioned her judgment. Nora should know that she raised Loren well, and Nora should trust Loren's ability to make decisions.

"I know! I am now the bad mom, but Loren, you are my daughter—my whole world. You mean everything to me, and I want to make sure you are safe. I am glad that you called me."

"You aren't pissed that Tyler drank?" Loren asked, shocked. Sure, she had told Tyler that it wasn't that big of a deal—it wasn't to her, but she wasn't sure that Nora would see it the same way.

"Well, no, because it only further solidifies that he is way too old for you."

"Mom! He is barely a few years older."

"Loren, Tyler is turning twenty-five in January." Loren stared at her mom. "I did a little research." Loren rolled her eyes.

"You need to learn to trust me. Besides, I am eighteen years old."

"I don't care if you're fifty-seven—you are always going to be my daughter, and I love you. I need to make sure you are happy, safe, and healthy at all times." Loren smiled at her mom.

"I love you."

"Ditto, kid."

"So, why were you happy that I called you?"

"Well, it helped me to realize that even though you are becoming an adult and becoming much more self-sufficient, but when you called me, it helped me to remember that you will always need me."

"Of course!" Loren said quickly. "You are my best friend—don't tell Mel that, though! I will always come to you."

"So, what is going on between you and Tyler?" Loren laughed, shaking her head.

"Nothing…we are friends."

"Friends? That hug didn't look friendly. Nor did that kiss on the cheek." Loren bit her lip.

"Mom! We are friends…"

"For now?" Loren glanced out the window, shrugging her shoulders.

"For now…forever? I have no idea. All I know is that I like the way that things are between Tyler and me. I don't want to rush into anything when neither one of us would be ready for a relationship. He is still interested in Chloe, and I am trying to get over my crush on Eddie."

"That is very mature of you." Nora said, nodding her head as she pulled into their driveway. "I am glad that I have such a smart daughter." Loren laughed as they climbed out of the car.

"Good night, mom." Loren said as they headed toward their rooms. After Loren undressed and washed the makeup from her face, she sat down at her desk to write in her diary. When she finished describing her night, she opened her song book. She took a deep breath and began to write her final song for Eddie. It was the last time she was going to let herself feel badly about him. She smiled to herself as she read over the words when she was done. She had no intention of including this song in her album, but it made her feel good to get the words out. It was far too personal and maybe even a little hurtful towards Eddie, which she didn't want. This song was for her.

_I wanna smash your fears_  
_And get drunk in off your tears_  
_Don't you share your smile with anyone else but me_  
_I wanna touch your heart_  
_I wanna crush it in my hands_  
_Make you plead and cry as you give up all the lies_

_We're not lovers_  
_But more than friends_  
_Put a flame to every single word you ever said_  
_No more crying_  
_To get me through_  
_I'll keep dancing till the morning with somebody new_

_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Over you_  
_Oh, over you_

_Stuck in a real bad dream_  
_And man it feels so new to me_  
_Should be in your arms, but I'm begging at your feet_  
_It's been a real hard night_  
_And I just hold my pillow tight_  
_It won't love me back; no,_  
_It's not you and I_

_We're not lovers_  
_But more than friends_  
_Put a flame to every single word you ever said_  
_No more crying_  
_To get me through_  
_I'll keep dancing till the morning with somebody new_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_

_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Over you_  
_Oh, oh, over you, oh_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_  
_Over you_  
_Oh, over you_

_We're not lovers_  
_But more than friends_  
_Put a flame to every single word you ever said_  
_And no more crying_  
_To get me through_  
_I'll keep dancing till the morning with somebody new_  
_Tonight I'm getting over you_

_No more crying_  
_To get me through_  
_I'll keep dancing till the morning with somebody new_  
_Tonight, I'm getting over you_


	13. Chapter 13

**Somebody**

**Chapter 13**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Treacherous**_** by Taylor Swift**

**Author's Note: So, the way this chapter went kind of took me by surprise. I had a plan of where I wanted it to go, but these characters kind of went crazy and did what they wanted. I am really happy with how it turned out. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, although I expect quite a few unhappy reviews.  
**

* * *

It was just past ten in the morning when Loren's cell phone woke her from her sleep. She didn't get to bed until nearly three in three in the morning by the time she had finished writing the song and getting ready for bed. She groaned, grabbing her phone from the end table. She saw that it was Mel calling, and she quickly answered. "I hate you. I didn't go to sleep until three." Loren muttered, half burying her face into the pillow.

"Well, get your ass up and go check out your computer!" Loren groaned and stood up, walking across her room to her desk. She opened her computer, setting her phone down after she put it on speaker phone.

"You are on speaker phone." Loren muttered as she grabbed her brush and carefully began to brush out the tangles from her hair. She hated sleeping on curls, because her hair always became a knotted mess the next day. She cursed as she brushed out a particularly difficult tangle.

"What's crawled up your ass?" Mel asked, sighing loudly when she heard the ding from Loren's computer when it fully loaded.

"I am tired and just got rudely woken up by my cell phone ringing. Oh, and I slept on curls." Loren muttered as she logged onto the internet. "What am I looking for?" She asked as she immediately went to twitter and her email. From her email, she saw that a lot of people had sent her tweets and PMs about her and Tyler. Most of them were asking if she was dating Tyler and how cute they looked in the pictures. "Shit…" She muttered.

"So, I take it that you have seen twitter." Mel said. "Go to Perez's website." Loren groaned as she loaded the website. One of the top stories was about the budding Lyler romance.

"Shit…" Loren muttered as she clicked on the link to read the full story.

_**OH EM GEE! I Need to Catch My Breath like Miss Loren Tate After These Pics!**_

_Last night, the paps caught Miss __**Loren Tate**__ and her unofficial beau, __**Tyler Rorke**__, partying it up in MK, the club named after the rock sensations __**Max Duran**__ and the late Katy Duran (and owned by the aforementioned Max Duran). The paps caught these two lovebirds (?) heading into the club, with the handsome Mr. Rorke leading the way and holding tightly to the lovely Miss Tate's hand. _

_In the club, witnesses stated Lyler started out dancing rather demurely and chatting/drinking by the bar. Later on, though, Loren practically eye-sexed Tyler from across the bar while she grinded with a bunch of random girls and some dude who had chatted her up by the bar before Tyler showed up earlier in the evening. Once Mr. Rorke finished his drink, he sauntered into the crowd; Loren ditched the randoms to dance all up in Tyler's business. _

_About the same time this was happening, Loren's mentor and newly reported tour buddy, __**Eddie Duran**__, showed up at the club with his model girlfriend, __**Chloe Carter**__._

_Loren, Tyler, Max, and Eddie had a little powwow by the bar a bit later on; Eddie pulled Loren off for a little, heated tête-à-tête __before Loren and Tyler left the club. This time, Loren led the way, holding her beau's hand, before she drove them to Tyler's apartment._ _The paps then got cute pictures of Loren and Tyler snuggling up outside of Tyler's apartment. While there were no smooches (boo!), Loren and Tyler were certainly all over each other—hugging, snuggling, petting, and cheek-kissing each other._ _Can I just say that I am a major fan of Leddie (down with Chloed!), but I am certainly becoming a super huge fan of Lyler (couple name courtesy of one Loren Tate). So, check out the slideshow of the pics of Lyler below. _

_Also, in the comment section let me know if you are Team Lyler and Team Leddie. Do you think Loren and Tyler are dating? Can this queen please get the couple confirmation already! My poor heart can't take all this cuteness without a definite yes that they are together! (Lyler—you will look just as dumb as __Jessica Simpson __did by never confirming her pregnancy until right before she popped, so just tell us already!)_

_Tags: __loren tate, tyler rorke, lyler, max duran, mk, eddie duran, chloe carter, chloed, leddie, jessica simpson_

"Shit…" Loren muttered again after she finished reading the post. She scrolled through the pictures, seeing a couple of them entering the club and exiting the club, but the rest were of her and Tyler when they were outside of his apartment. There were a couple of them walking up the driveway with their arms entwined; there was a picture of Tyler leading Loren by her hand to the stairs, as well as one of him helping her sit down in front of him. The rest of the pictures were of Loren resting against Tyler's chest, talking, hugging, and holding hands.

"So, is there something you want to tell me?" Mel asked, making Loren jump.

"Oh, jeeze." Loren muttered, shutting her laptop angrily. "Those pictures are out of context." Loren told her. "We are just friends."

"Okay, I trust you." Mel said. "But you will tell me if that changes."

"I don't plan on it changing, Mel." Loren told her. She stood up and walked over to her bed again. "This has only just begun and already I want it to go back to how it was." Loren groaned as she collapsed on the bed. "Does that make me selfish?"

"Yes." Mel stated. Loren felt her jaw drop open. "Don't get me wrong—I can totally understand how frustrating it is to have your personal life splashed all over magazines or the internet, but you chose this by agreeing to do the demo and such. You could have said no to Eddie. You could have even just done songwriting or something, but you chose to become a singer. As the saying goes, you made your bed and now you have to lie in it."

"Well, tell me how you really feel…" Loren muttered.

"Oh, stop! I am not mad that you are going to be a singer. I am ridiculously proud of you, in fact, but who better than me to tell you when you are acting like a princess. You chose this; now get over it. People are going to be constantly speculating whether or not Tyler is your boyfriend—or Eddie, or some other guy. You are just need to remember that people only care because they are going to develop crushes on you, like you felt for Eddie before all this happened."

"You're right. I need to stop whining and just learn to deal with this. I chose it, so I have to live with it." Loren hummed to herself for a moment. "Okay, I am sort of over it. People are always going to be wondering who I am with and blah blah blah. I am good."

"Okay, so do you want to meet for coffee today and work on homework together? Calc is killing me."

"Sure. I don't have work until tomorrow, so I would love to meet you for a coffee and homework session. Give me an hour?"

"Yuppers! See you then." Loren quickly showered and got ready for to meet Mel. She packed her school bag with her math and English homework before heading out the door to walk to the café to meet Mel.

* * *

The first thing that Mel and Loren did was order lunch from Summer before sliding into the big booth near the door of the café. They spread out their school books and began going over the math homework. About a half hour into their lunch and homework session, Loren heard what appeared to be the sound of cell phones capturing pictures. She glanced up and noticed that there were about four twelve year olds standing by the door, literally taking pictures of her with their cell phones. Loren frowned, raising her eyebrows at Mel. "What?" Mel asked, and Loren discreetly (to the best of her ability) jerked her head toward the group of young girls taking her picture. Mel laughed before clearing her throat and saying to them loudly, "ladies! She isn't a zoo animal. Move along. No one really cares about seeing Loren Tate work on her calc homework." The girls scampered off, clearly embarrassed.

"So, maybe I am not over it…" Loren said, running a hand through her hair. Her phone began ringing, and she smiled when she saw that it was Tyler calling. She accepted the call, saying a quick hello before mouthing to Mel that it was Tyler.

"So, there are some pictures…" Tyler began, hesitating.

"I know." Loren said, erasing an answer to one of her homework questions after she realized that she made a mistake. "I was going to call you, but Mel helped me to realize that there are always going to people wondering who I am dating. I honestly would rather that people think I am dating you than someone else." She bit her lip, staring at the textbook in front of her. "I might be one of the top people in my calc class, but I seriously hate this subject." Loren groaned. "Do you know anything about calc?"

"Sorry, but math was definitely not my best subject." Tyler laughed. "Science, on the other hand…"

"But, they are so similar."

"Physics, chemistry, and those kinds of sciences, most definitely—but biology, anatomy—all of the life sciences are less math and more…"

"Sciencey?" Loren joked, leaning back in her chair.

"Precisely." She heard the humor in his voice. "So, I am glad that you aren't uncomfortable with the pictures."

"Nope, not at all. Although, I just had a couple of tweens take cell phone pictures of me in _Aroma_, dressed in sweats, no makeup, and my hair in a messy bun on top of my head with about five plates of food, bent over my textbooks. That makes me uncomfortable."

"Nah…I bet you look beautiful." Loren blushed, feeling the twinge in her stomach. "You always look beautiful." She crinkled her nose, not knowing what to say or do.

"Thanks…" She whispered after a few moments.

"You're welcome."

Loren returned to her homework, deciding to skip the question that was troubling her and moving on to the next one. She groaned when she realized that the next three questions were continuations of the last question she was confused about. "I really hate calc right now." Loren muttered, practically throwing her pencil down and dropping her head so that her forehead rested against the textbook. "Mel, call Cameron. I seriously need his help." Loren told Mel.

"Cameron…the ex-boyfriend, right?" Loren hummed her ascent. "He is good at calc?"

"He is better at math than I am. But, I am better at English."

"I see…So, I will let you get back to your homework, but I was just calling to invite you to another fun hangout session with yours truly next Saturday."

"I can't next weekend." Loren pouted. "I am in the studio all day on Saturday and then working on Sunday."

"Shoot…well, what about the next weekend?" Loren opened her planner and looked at the weekend of the thirteenth of October.

"I am free until about three on that Saturday." Loren told him, setting aside her planner. "What did you have in mind?"

"I can't tell you that! It is going to be a surprise! Don't worry, though. You are going to have a ton of fun, because I am pretty spectacular."

"Of course!" Loren rolled her eyes.

"I am going to miss you until we get to see each other again. Please tell me you have a weeknight free here and there to get dinner?"

"I might have a couple of weeknights available for someone worthwhile." Loren laughed.

"Good! Text me the dates, and we can work it out. Get your homework done, missy! I don't want your mom or Mel to hunt me down for distracting you from your studies." Loren laughed, hanging up the phone.

"So, all is well in Lyler land?" Loren rolled her eyes. "Did he get testy when you mentioned Cam?" Loren shook her head at her best friend.

"No, why would he?"

"Just wondering. You can tell if a guy likes you based on how weird they get when you mention other guys—especially ex-boyfriends." Loren thought about whether or not that was true. There were no other guys when she was with Cameron, but when he moved back and first started hanging out with Eddie, she did notice that it would make him tense to talk about Eddie around him. Then, Eddie was acting all possessive with Wyatt at the recording session and then kept talking about how Cameron never seemed right for her. Plus, he was definitely not a fan of her hanging out with Tyler, but that was probably for a lot of different reasons. Tyler wanted her to talk about Eddie with him. Then again, their conversations were generally about the negative aspects of her and Eddie—aside from the conversation she had with him after she heard Eddie's song, where he told her to hear Eddie out. She thought about Tyler's reaction when she mentioned Cameron. First, he clarified that he was in fact her ex-boyfriend and whether or not he was good at math, he then quickly moved on to inviting her to hang out with him again. "Lo, you are real quiet. What are you thinking about?"

"I was giving what you said some serious thought. I mean, I guess I can see what you were talking about with Cameron and Eddie, but I don't really see anything too odd about Tyler's behavior."

"Well, what was his reaction to Cameron?"

"He wanted to confirm that Cameron was the ex-boyfriend, and then he asked me about whether or not Cameron was good at math. Then, he quickly moved on to ask me to hang out with him again." Mel rolled her eyes.

"First, you had just got done asking him if he was good at calc, and I take it that he responded with the negative. Then, he had to listen to you tell me to call your ex-boyfriend. It is obvious that he kind of felt like less of a man or your hero or something, because he couldn't help you with your problem. So, he decided to stake his claim in a different way, by asking you to make plans with him."

"He wasn't staking a claim. You are being ridiculous."

"Lo, think about it. Tyler obviously likes you."

"I don't think so." Mel shook her head. "Did you not see the way that he was looking at you in those pictures by his place?"

"Oh, he isn't looking at me any differently than the way that he looked at you at dinner."

"Loren, I would be one lucky girl if a guy looked at me the way that that boy is looking at you in those pictures. He is obviously falling for you."

"You do have a boy that looks at you like you hung the moon. His name is Adam, and he is a cute, lovable dork that loves indie music and computers."

"Pssh, that cute, lovable dork needs to get his ass in gear if he wants all this." Mel said, waving her hand toward her body. Loren giggled. The bell above the door to the café chimed as Cameron walked in.

"CAM!" Loren jumped up and dove on him. Mel snapped a picture of Loren's tight embrace and Cameron's confused facial expression. "You are my hero! Please save me from the evil calculus assignment!" Loren moaned as she drug Cameron back to the table.

"That picture was hilarious. Just tweeted it." Loren pouted as she grabbed her cell phone to look at twitter.

_DramaQueenMelS: Love_To_Love_You & I can't figure out our calc homework. CameronForrester0722 to the rescue! #ourhero #mathgod _

_DramaQueenMelS: Love_To_Love_You acting out how much we love her ex-beau! CameronForrester0722 #LookAtThatFace #LookLikeModels #TheyWouldMakeCuteBabies_

"Oh, that picture is not flattering of Cameron." She showed Cameron the tweet, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Great! I love being referred to as the ex-beau." Cameron stared at Loren for a moment with his eyes narrowed. "Speaking of beaus…" Loren groaned, shaking her head.

"Just friends!" She told him, laying a hand on Cameron's hand. It had been barely two weeks since she and Cameron had officially went separate ways, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. A light blush erupted on Cam's cheeks, and he looked down at the textbook, embarrassed. Loren and Mel shared a look before Mel got a sinister smile on her face. Before Loren could open her mouth to stop whatever was about to come out of Mel's mouth, the brunette girl started in on him.

"So, Cam," Mel began, resting her elbows on the table and making a steeple out of her hands. "Are you and Ella screwing yet?" Loren practically choked on her own tongue, making her drop her phone in surprise.

"Mel!" She hissed, but a part of her wanted to know the answer. After seeing Cameron and Ella together in Disneyland with fresh eyes as being Cameron's _ex_-girlfriend, she realized that the two of them were definitely into each other. Cameron blushed even redder, running a hand through his blond hair, not daring to look them in the eye. "Cam?" She asked after a moment, raising her eyebrows. Did he move on that quickly? She knew that she had no right to feel upset—she had recently made out with Eddie (although Cam never needed to know about that)—but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he would move on that quickly.

"We aren't screwing as Mel eloquently put it," he coughed, rubbing a hand over his face. "But, we have been talking…"

"Talking?" Mel and Loren said at the same time. Mel was grinning excitedly, but Loren was frowning. "Don't you normally talk?" Loren asked, confused.

"Lo, he means they are doing what you and Cam did for a month before you guys finally hooked up." Loren glared at Mel before turning back to Cam.

"So, you guys are dating?" She asked after a few moments.

"Well, I mean…not quite." Cameron grimaced, looking at Loren. "You know how long distance is…"

"Oh, I do…" Loren said, crossing her arms and staring Cameron down. This was not how she expected her conversation to go with Cameron at all.

"So, we are kind of just…" He trailed off, shrugging. "Talking." Loren finished off for him. "Yeah…Are you mad?" He asked, laying a hand on Loren's shoulder. She chewed on her bottom lip and furrowed her brow.

"So, what happens when you guys are done talking?" Loren asked him, ignoring his question about whether or not she is mad. She didn't know what she was feeling—she just wanted to understand.

"Well, Lo, when a boy and a girl like each other…" Mel began, and Loren turned her acid glare back on Mel, who immediately stopped talking. Loren turned her attention back to Cameron.

"Either we decide if we want to try the long distance thing or we decide to stay friends." Cameron shrugged again. "USD was one of the five schools I applied to, so if we started dating and I got in, it would work out." Loren's eyes widened.

"You applied to USD?" She asked him, shocked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I always wanted to live in San Diego—the beaches, the surfing, you know." Loren's facial expression didn't change. "And, you were going to go to Brown, which is in Rhode Island…"

"What if we had gotten back together?" Loren asked him.

"So, you are mad…" Cameron muttered. She just stared at him, and he grimaced again. "Lo, I would never in a million years ask you to switch you college plans for me, even if we were together again. I don't think that you would have expected me to do the same."

"Let me get this straight. What you are saying is that because I had planned on going to Brown, which is on the East Coast, you planned on hopefully going to the _same_ school as your childhood best friend and neighbor, who just so happens to be the girl you had your first kiss with and have probably always been secretly in love with?" Mel squeaked when Loren said what she said so bluntly. "If we had been together, you realize how screwed up that would have been?"

"Okay, so which part of this are you actually mad about? The fact that I am in the process of moving on and trying to see someone else, which is what we agreed upon when we decided not to continue dating, or because I applied to the same school as Ella, which would have confirmed your assumptions that I have been interested in her the entire time that we were dating?" Mel squeaked again at how angry Cameron seemed.

"Both!" Loren groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Neither! I don't know…"

"I am sorry, Loren, but you can't be mad at me for moving on." Cameron tightened his fists on the tabletop. "By the way, I wasn't secretly in love with Ella. Not for a second." He spat. "I was always in love with you, from the minute I first met you. She was my best friend, and I always wanted her around when we were first dating, because she was older and knew what to do when it came to dating, which I had no idea about. I was trying to impress you all of the time, and I thought that by hanging out with Ella, I would get tips about how a boyfriend does and doesn't act around his girlfriend by watching what Ella's boyfriends did with her." Loren's jaw dropped open. From the corner of her eye, she realized that Mel's had, too. "It just became habit to include her on a lot of our group dates, and she would always ask us along on the first few dates with a new boyfriend because she was nervous. I definitely never thought of her as anything more than my best friend during the two and half years that we dated."

"Seriously?" Mel asked when Cameron finished his rant.

"I always felt like I was competing with Ella—the other girlfriend. She was so pretty, hyper, nice, and perfect all the time, and I thought that I had to do everything in my power to keep your attention."

"You always had my attention, Lo." She shook her head in disbelief, looking over at Mel, who looked equally shocked. "It was you who held back…" Loren frowned, snapping her attention back to him.

"What?"

"I am serious. Looking back now, I realize that you were never into me in the same way that I was into you. I mean, you never told me about your song writing, or why you were always a mess at the end of the night after we hung out for your birthday. You didn't tell me why you were always MIA the next day. You didn't share big, important things in your life with me. Now, you are feeling uncomfortable with the idea that I am moving on and finding someone else who will share those things with me?"

"Cam…" Loren trailed off, and he just shook his head.

"I came here tonight to help out a _friend_—again what _we_ agreed on—with her calc homework and to tell that _friend_ about what is going on in my life since we haven't had much alone time in the last two weeks, but I realize now that that was probably a stupid idea."

"Cam," Loren said, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her to an empty table a few feet away from where she and Mel had been sitting. "I wanted to talk to you in private so that I can get this off of my chest. I was acting irrationally a few minutes ago. I was the one who told you that I didn't want to start up again. I was the one that was pushing for a friendship, rather than a relationship with you. I am sorry that I got defensive and upset when you talked about pursuing something with Ella. That was my old insecurities from our relationship coming to the surface. It wasn't fair of me, and for that I am sorry." She paused, holding his hand tightly in hers. "You were right, though." She said quietly, looking down at their hands on the table. "I did hold back from you when we were dating, and I am sorry that I hurt you. My dad left when I was four—the day after my birthday, in fact. I have always been sort of struggling with that abandonment my entire life, and I have always built up these walls and made it really hard for me to get close to anyone. It took Mel nearly ten years of friendship to finally get the story behind me and my dad—even then, I have held back a lot of stuff about it from her. I am really working on sharing the parts of myself with the special people in my life. I just wish that I had learned how to do it four years ago when you and I began dating."

"Lo, I am sorry about your dad." Cam pulled his hand from her to wrap it around her shoulder and to pull her into a tight hug.

"I have written a lot of songs about him and his abandonment of me and my mom." Loren said softly, pulling out of the hug. "Others are inspired by a lot of other stuff in my life, like you with _Breathe_."

"You know I love you, right? I mean, I know that we aren't in love with each other or anything, but I still love you, and I want you to know that I am always going to be there for you when you need me."

"I love you, too." She pressed a light kiss on his lips, pulling back to study his face to see if that was wrong or weird. Cam didn't say anything for a moment, just rested his hand against her cheek. Suddenly, though, he was kissing her. She didn't know how to react at first. They had made out a lot when they were dating, but this kiss, although much more innocent than their make out sessions in the past, was very heated. There was so much emotion behind the kiss. It was angry, sad, frustrated, and full of…love? After a few moments of kissing, she broke the kiss to catch her breath. Her eyes widened as her fingers flew to her lips, staring at Cam in disbelief.

"Wow…" Cam said, running a hand down his face. "I didn't…wow…" Loren shrugged, pulling his face into hers again to kiss him. It was so natural to kiss Cameron. It felt right. But, it also felt wrong. The kiss was good, but there was a part of Loren screaming at her to stop kissing him. She broke away from him again, shaking her head.

"We have got to stop doing that," she muttered as she once again captured her breath.

"Totally…" Cam ran over his mouth, leaning away from Loren for a moment. "Not that it was bad or anything…" He said quickly.

"But, we shouldn't do it…" She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. "So, tell me about Ella?"

"Seriously?" Cameron's eyebrow flew into his hair. "There is definitely not going to be an Ella and me anymore once she finds out that I made out with you again!"

"Maybe I could explain?" Loren hesitated.

"Oh, you can explain what just happened, huh?"

"Give me a minute…I need to process it. So, please tell me about you and Ella."

"I ran into her on Friday when I was coming home from school. She was surprising her parents for the weekend, and we sat on my porch talking. She asked when I decided to move back in with my mom, and I told her that I did it just before school and lacrosse camp started. She asked about you, and I told her that we decided not to get back together. She asked why not, and I told her that we decided that it wasn't right for the two of us to be a couple." He ran a hand in his hair again. "Then, I got the text from Mel about going to Disneyland and to bring along a friend, so I asked Ella if she wanted to go. She agreed and spent the day trying to get us to get back together. At the end of the day, I asked her why she kept bringing up our relationship, and she told me that was what she was doing. I told her that I honestly was fine with not getting together with you, because you were right when you said that we had grown into different people since the last time we saw each other. Ella agreed, saying that she and I were two different people since I moved away last year. Although we talked, we both were busy after we didn't see each other regularly at school or home anymore. So, she told me that when she saw me the day before, she realized that something had changed. She thought that by getting you and me back together, things would go back to normal between all of us."

"She realized that she might have feelings for you…" Loren sighed.

"Yeah, and I agreed to go out to lunch with her the next day to get a feel for whether or not there might be something between her and I."

"I take it there was, since you guys have been talking." Loren said. Cam shrugged.

"Yeah, I think she is gorgeous and pretty amazing, but you are you…" Cam studied Loren's face. "I love you, and it is so easy to go back to you and how it was between us. I know we are different people, though…" Loren nodded her head. "What is going on between you and Eddie?" She frowned, wiping at a tear that spilled down her cheek.

"Nothing…you were right; I fell for him and got hurt." Cam frowned. "He kissed me the Sunday after Disney. He told me that he had feelings for me and kissed me, and I was stupid and ignored all of the things that were wrong. Most of all, the fact that he had a girlfriend. He chose her…He decided that it was a mistake between the two of us, and that he loved her and wanted to stay with her." He laid his hand against her cheek, brushing the tears that fell from her eye with his thumb.

"Oh, Lo…"

"It still hurts, but I am getting over it. I let myself get caught up and think that there was something there, when there wasn't." Loren fell against Cam's chest, letting him hold her in his arms and rub her back in comfort. She pulled back to look him in the eyes. Again, there was almost a magnetic pull between them, and they kissed again. This time, the kiss was soft and comforting; their lips barely grazed, and it was over almost as soon as it began. Loren smiled sadly at Cam as she pulled away from him.

"What about you and the other guy…Tyler, right?" Cameron asked as she pulled out of his arms fully.

"I can answer that for you. Loren has made it perfectly clear the entire time that she and I are not dating." Loren jumped at the sound of Tyler's voice, and she looked up to see him standing by the table where she and Mel had been sitting. Mel's face was the most hideous ashen white shade, and she covered her mouth with her right hand. Tyler's hands were in tight fists at his sides. He shook his head, his jaw clenched. He turned on his heel and started out the door of the café.

"Tyler! Wait! I can explain!" Loren moaned, jumping up. She glanced at Cam, who just laughed, rubbing a hand over his face again.

"If you can explain this, then please come back and tell me later, but I recommend that you go after him."

"I promise that I will explain what this was to you and to Ella, too. I think you and her would be great together." Loren rushed toward the exit of the café and outside. She tried to catch up with Tyler as his car went screeching out of the café's parking lot. Loren's heart felt like it had fallen out of her chest, and she pressed a hand to her forehead. She rushed back inside to see Cameron and Melissa just staring at each other. "He left! I missed him." She groaned, dropping into her old seat. "I didn't get to explain." She felt the tears fill her eyes.

"So, I guess this means that you like this guy, too." Cam said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?!" Mel screeched, pointing toward the table that Cam and Loren had been sitting at.

"I honestly have no idea!" Loren wailed. "We were just talking, and I was explaining about why I was such a messed up girlfriend. Then, suddenly we were kissing."

"Does this mean you two are getting back together?" Mel asked them, confused.

"No!" They both said at the same time, laughing when they looked at each other. "No, it felt good and natural to kiss Loren—like it always did…" Cameron began, shrugging and not sure where to go from there.

"But, it didn't feel _right_. It actually felt a little _wrong_." Loren finished. "Cam belongs with Ella, and I probably royally screwed them up." She groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Now, Tyler will never forgive me."

"Yeah, we know for sure now that he is totally into you, Lo." Loren whimpered, dropping her head onto the table. "And, you obviously like him, because you are really broken up about him seeing you kiss Cam." Mel said, laying a hand on Loren's arm.

"I don't know what I want to happen with Tyler…I just know that I hurt him, and I need to make it right."

"Then, go make it right." Loren raised her head to look up at Cam.

"What?"

"You heard me. Pack up your crap and go see him." Loren wiped at her cheeks. She nodded her head. That is what she would do. She began packing her stuff up, throwing it haphazardly into her school bag. When she was done, she slammed a twenty down on the table to cover her portion of the lunch.

"I am going to go see him and explain." Then, realization hit. She didn't have a car. She walked to the café. Her mom was using the car this weekend. She collapsed into the seat, dejectedly. "I don't have a car." She muttered.

"Take mine." Mel thrust the keys to her beat up, old car into Loren's hands. "Seriously, it is not a big deal. Cam, can you drop me off at my house. When you are done with Tyler, Lo, stop by my house. We can talk and do the rest of our homework then."

"Yeah, I will totally drop you off." Mel grabbed Loren's schoolbag from her, thrusting Loren's wallet-wristlet into her hands. "Go!" Loren threw her arms around both of them, racing to the door.

"Cam, I will call Ella later to explain everything. I promise!" She ran toward Mel's car and unlocked it as quickly as she could. She drove as quickly (without being reckless or breaking the law) as she could to Tyler's place.

The entire time she was driving, Loren kept trying to call Tyler on her cell phone, pressing redial and speakerphone each time that it went to his voicemail. As if by some kind of miracle, she found a parking spot on the street in front of Tyler's apartment complex. She rushed to the front door of his apartment building, trying to see which apartment he lived in. She kept calling his phone, as she searched for his name in the list of tenets. She saw that he lived in apartment 105A. Just as she was about to buzz him, the door opened and an older gentleman with a dog exited the building. Loren smiled at him, and he held the door open to her as she slipped past him into the building. She made her way down the hallway, searching the apartment numbers on the doors, looking for apartment 105A. Loren finally found it and she began pounding on the door, hoping to hell that he was there. The door flew open, and she found herself face to face with Tyler. He looked clearly upset, but he didn't immediately slam the door in her face, for which Loren was grateful.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off rekindling your romance with the ex?" He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"There is nothing going on between Cameron and me." Loren said a little breathlessly. "Please, let me in so that I can explain?" She pleaded. She didn't dare touch him, but every inch of her body wanted to pull him into a tight hug. Tyler stared at her for a moment before he stepped back, allowing her to enter his apartment. Loren gave him a sad smile and stepped past him. He shut the door loudly behind her and then pushed past her to drop onto his couch, arms crossed again. She licked her lips, glancing around his apartment, taking in the small kitchenette and his messy bed toward the back of the apartment. "You have a nice place." She said, rubbing her hands against her sweatpants as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. Tyler just stared at her. "Right…so can I sit?" She asked, motioning to the spot next to him on the couch. He didn't say anything, so she carefully made her way to sit down beside him. He shifted away from her, and she felt like her heart was being stabbed repeatedly. "Tyler…" She whispered.

"You wanted to explain, so explain." Loren looked down at her hands, and she realized that she was wringing them; she stilled them, only to see that they were shaking, so she slammed them onto her legs, holding them there.

"I know that my situation is not the same as your situation with Chloe is…" Loren said carefully. "But, what you saw back there was something similar to the kiss you shared with her a few weeks ago. Cameron showed up to help Mel and I study, and we started talking about him and his best friend, Ella. I got defensive and upset when I realized that they were interested in each other and turning their friendship into something more. I had always felt so insecure about their relationship when he and I were dating, and I got caught up in the emotions of it. We kissed because it felt natural to kiss each other. He was comforting me, and I was comforting him, in a way. I don't know…it just happened. He said that he loved me and that he knew that we were different people, but he would never stop loving me. It was like we had to kiss one last time to figure this out." Loren rested her palm against her forehead. "We realized that we were definitely not in love with each other anymore. He is starting to fall for Ella." Loren stopped then.

"And you?" Tyler prodded. He had shifted his body toward hers a little. She didn't say anything for a moment, not sure how to answer his question yet. "You are falling in love with Eddie." He said after a few moments, his voice strained. Loren shook her head and stood up, wringing her hands together again as she walked away from him. She didn't get far before she turned her attention back on Tyler.

"No…I am not." She shook her head again. "I started to see something as more than friendship between us, but there isn't. He kissed me, and—"

"You kissed him!?" Tyler said, jumping up and storming over to Loren. She knew that even though he was angry, he would never hurt her, but she backed away from him anyway until her back rested against his front door.

"He kissed me before the music video shoot. It was the day after he and I hung out with my friends in Disneyland." Loren explained, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "He chose Chloe, and I met you. I was so happy that you were there for me and that we became friends, because it helped me to get past what happened between Eddie and me. It helped me to realize that he and I aren't going to get together, and I became okay with that fact."

Tyler pressed his hands over his face, groaning loudly. "There it is again! Friends!" He dropped his hands from his face and spread his arms wide open. "What if I don't want to just be friends?" He yelled. He dropped his arms so that the smacked against his sides. Loren chewed on her bottom lip, gripping her stomach tighter.

"What about Chloe?" She whispered.

"I know this started out as a friendship between you and I—one that was based on us getting over Eddie and Chloe, but the more we talked and hung out, I found myself wanting more than that." He shrugged his shoulders. "I want more than just friendship, Loren. Cameron wants that girl, Ella. I want you. What do you want?" Loren closed her eyes. She didn't know what she wanted. Did she want something more than a friendship with Tyler? If they did start something, does that mean he is done with Chloe?

"I don' know!" She cried out, turning away from him for a moment. "I don't know what I want." She said quietly after a moment, wiping at the tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Well, until you figure that out, maybe you should go." Tyler turned away from her and walked toward his bed. Loren turned to face him again. She saw him angrily grabbing clothes off of the floor and bed, tossing them into the hamper. When he was done with that, he dropped dejectedly onto his unmade bed, burying his face in his hands. Loren knew that he was hurt, and she didn't want to leave him like this.

"Tyler…" She said quietly. He dropped his hands and glared up at her. He stood up again and stormed over to her again, getting into her face as she pressed herself back against the door again.

"Loren, figure out what you want and then talk to me." Tyler's voice was so quiet and low that she had to strain to hear him. She let her eyes drift closed, and she took a moment to think about all of the times they had talked and texted and hung out. She thought about how their relationship had gradually changed from talking about Eddie and Chloe to revolving around other things. She thought about how the night before she felt safe and appreciated when they were talking. She thought about how he made her blush and feel beautiful and special. She thought about how good it felt to hug him, to lean against him, to brush her lips against his cheek. She thought about how she didn't want him to stop running his fingertips up and down her arm or how she hoped that he would kiss her when he lips grazed her ear as he whispered to her. She thought about all of those things. She opened her eyes when she heard him turn and take a couple of steps from her. Loren whispered the word without even realizing it. She didn't think that he heard her, but he froze mid-step and carefully turned around to face her. "What was that?" Tyler asked her after he took a deep breath.

"I said you." Loren said a little more firmly—loudly. "I want you."

Tyler closed the distance between them, pulling her flush against his body and pressing his lips to hers. She felt breathless; she pressed her hands against his chest, supporting herself so that she didn't fall from the onslaught of his kiss. She let her hands bunch up the fabric as she held on to him as pressed her back into the door. The kiss was so different from the ones she had just shared with Cameron, or the kisses she had shared with Eddie. Those kisses were soft, sweet, and passionate in their innocence. While the kisses with Eddie had grown to be much more intense, this kiss with Tyler was intensity and passion at the start; it was full of anger and sadness and betrayal and heat and excitement from the beginning. Tyler's lips were almost punishing as he kissed her brutally—it was almost as if he was showing her just how pissed he was over seeing her kiss Cam and hearing about her kissing Eddie; the kiss seemed to scream, 'this is almost what you missed out on.' Her entire body felt like it was on fire and tingling, and she was lightheaded from the intensity.

After a few moments, Loren tore her lips from his, sucking in several deep breaths. Their eyes locked, and Tyler gave her the tiniest smile, which she returned before he was back to kissing her again; this time it was softer, sweeter. She released his shirt from her fists and wound her arms around his neck, pulling his body tightly against hers again. She felt his arms wrap around her waist, and she felt at peace for the first time since she realized that he saw her kissing Cameron. No, that wasn't right. It was the first time she had felt any peace since she had run into him in the hallway outside of MK. After a few moments, Tyler broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. Loren closed her eyes, breathing deeply the smell of his cologne. She stood up on her toes to press a light kiss on the tip of his nose before pulling out of his arms. She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the couch. She sat down, pulling him down beside her. Tyler laid back on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table. Loren snuggled into his side, slipping beneath his left arm to rest her head against his chest.

"So…" She whispered, not knowing where to go from here.

"So," Tyler said softly, leaning his head down to press a kiss on top of Loren's head. "I like you."

"I like you, too." She whispered, moving her head so that she could look at him. "A lot…but, I also know that you and I are in completely different worlds." Loren bit her lip. "Even more different than me and Eddie." Tyler grimaced at her mention of Eddie. She frowned, raising a hand to rub the crease out from between his eyes. "I am serious, Tyler. You are nearly twenty-five years old. I just turned eighteen. I am in high school. You are an actor. This isn't the most conventional relationship."

"No, it isn't." He agreed. He studied her face for a moment before grabbing the hand that she had left resting against his cheek after she massaged the grimace from his face. He moved in a few inches over to press his lips against her palm, kissing it several times before dropping it into his lap and interlacing their fingers. "But, I don't care about the differences between us. I know that I am older, but I don't care about that. I would gladly give up drinking if that would make you feel comfortable."

"Drinking is the least of our problems. I am still in high school!" She told him, pulling out of his arms. "We can't have a normal relationship at all because of it. You are in your mid-twenties; you can go to bars on the weekends, have sleepovers with your partner, get together at random times before, during, or after work. I have homework and shifts at the coffee shop. I have normal teenage angst, whereas you are an adult."

"Loren, I know that you are young, and I know that you have responsibilities when it comes to doing school work, and your music, and your mom and your friends. I know all of that. What I need you to understand is that I don't see you as being limited in any capacity. I don't see you as just some high school girl. I see you as this beautiful girl that I want to get to know and to kiss—a lot." Loren's lips twitched before the smile slipped from her features.

"My mom would kill me." She muttered. "You are definitely not on the approved list of guys that her daughter is allowed to date." Tyler pouted, pulling Loren into his side once again.

"I will just have to make your mom fall in love with me. Any other excuses for why we shouldn't be together that I can shoot down?"

Loren laughed as Tyler pulled her closer to him so that their noses grazed each other. Their eyes were locked, and Loren could feel Tyler's breath mingled with her own. She felt like her body was a massive bundle of quivering nerves. She raised her hand to brush over his shirt from his stomach to his chest. She could feel the outline of his muscles, and her eyes drifted from his eyes to watch her hand's path along his body. Her fingers reached the neck of his shirt, and she gently brushed them to his skin. She froze, feeling his warmth and the softness of his skin. Her eyes drifted back to his, their breath still mingling. The fingers of both of his hands were digging into her lower back. She let her fingers stroke up his neck, feeling his heartbeat beneath his skin. Her fingers stroked up toward his jaw, and she felt the light prick of the incoming stubble on his chin. He fingers traced up his cheek and across his forehead and carefully began to trace them down his nose. His eyes fluttered for a moment when her fingers skimmed by them. She settled her fingers on his lips, which shifted slightly to a light smile before kissing her fingertips lightly. She dropped her hand back down his chin to his neck, sliding her hand lightly to rest behind his head.

The entire time Loren traced him with her hand, she tried to think of all of the reasons why they shouldn't be together. Going behind the age difference, the fact that she was still in high school, and the fact that her mother would definitely not approve, she also thought about the fact that Eddie and his team were most definitely not a fan of Tyler. While she was finding it easier every minute to get over the lack of whatever with Eddie, she didn't want to make things difficult between him and her—and Jake and Kelly, either. But, as much as she knew that she and Tyler didn't make sense, she couldn't help her desire to be with him now that she knew what it was like to kiss him. He was intoxicating; he was like quicksand, sucking her in deeper and deeper every time she tried to find a reason to break away from anything more than a friendship. Tyler's one hand slipped up her back, pressing her more tightly against his chest. His phone began ringing from where he had left it on the island a few feet away. His other hand slid farther around her back to grip her hipbone, caging her body against his. They didn't break their eye contact as they just let the phone ring until it stopped, going to his voicemail. Loren knew that they couldn't have been sitting here, not kissing but obviously wanting to, for much more than two or three minutes at the most; it felt like an eternity, though, and she smiled softly as her fingers slid into the hair at the top of his neck. She jumped when his phone went off again, her face coming even closer to his lips so that she felt them graze against hers as he spoke.

"I guess I should get that. It might be important…" He whispered. She shook her head, tightening her hold on the back of his neck. Loren heard her own voice, not even realizing that she was whispering until after his lips were pressed against hers once again.

"Don't. Stay with me…" Her eyes drifted shut. "Kiss me." She had whispered.

In the back of her mind, Loren heard the phone stop ringing and then start ringing again, but she and Tyler were too busy kissing to notice or care. He shifted her to settle into his lap, her legs settling on either side of his waist, a much more comfortable position (for her) for them to kiss. She heard him groan as he kissed his way down her chin to her neck, burying his face there as she shifted her hips closer to him. She felt his breath tickle her throat, and Loren froze, not daring to move and take this make out session to a place she wasn't ready for.

"We should probably stop…" He muttered against her neck, pressing a light kiss there.

"You want to stop?" She asked him, shocked. She had planned on saying that to him, because she and Cameron had never gotten much farther than this—shirt removal and some light touching over their fully-clothed bottom halves. But, Loren did not expect Tyler to put this to a halt.

"God, no!" Tyler groaned, pulling back from her neck to look her in the eyes. "But, I want to make sure that you are…_we_ are completely ready for things to get further than this." He smiled at her. "You deserve candles and rose petals and soft music and bubble baths and satin sheets, not a quick screw on a couch." Loren let her eyes drift shut, imagining his apartment with all of the romantic things he described. She opened her eyes. She kept her eyes open and locked on his as she kissed him lightly, pulling back to give him a small smile.

"I am not ready for sex yet," she said, carefully climbing off of his lap. "I appreciate that you knew that." She kissed him again, standing stood up with her, pulling her into a tight hug, pressing his lips to hers again, backing her toward the door. He broke the kiss, smiling at her as he grabbed his phone from the island along the way. "Missed an important call?" She asked when she saw him frown. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before hitting a button. He shook his head and set the phone down, screen side down, on the counter.

"Nope; nothing worthwhile." He smiled at Loren. "I am famished. Want to get some dinner?"

"Sure. I might need to ice my lips." She joked as she grabbed her wristlet from where she had dropped it by the door when they first kissed. "They have had quite the workout today," meaning their make out session.

"Oh, that's right, you made out with the ex. I almost forgot for a moment." Tyler groaned, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, checking to see that he had some cash on him.

"We didn't really make out!" Loren said, coming forward as Tyler tucked his wallet into back pocket once again. She wrapped her arms around his waist, standing up on her toes to press her lips to his. "I was talking about that rather punishing, intoxicating kiss that you laid on me. My lips are surely bruised." She said as she pulled out of the kiss. Tyler smirked, winking at Loren, pressing a light kiss on her nose.

"Ehh, I got a bit carried away. I had to stake a claim, you know." Loren giggled at Tyler's choice of words, thinking back to what Mel had said earlier. "What's so funny?"

"Mel said that you were staking a claim when you were rather insistent on the phone about hanging out again earlier this afternoon."

"Of course I was. I also knew that I had to casually swing by to make sure that your ex was behaving himself. Apparently, you two weren't." He said quietly. Loren frowned, running her fingers through his hair on the side of his face.

"I am sorry that I hurt you." She whispered. "I just didn't know what was going on in my head and heart until I saw you hurt and start to push me away. I was an idiot, and I plan on making it up to you." Tyler nodded his head, kissing her gently again.

"I have no doubt that you will make it up to me." They started toward the door, when his phone began ringing again from where he had left it on the island. "Forget it. You are the only person that really matters to me right now, so I don't need to bring it." He interlaced their fingers and opened his front door, grabbing his keys from the hook by the door.

"Wait," Loren dropped his hand, and she saw the hurt on his face. "Are we dating? Are we a couple? What is this?"

"I thought that…" He shook his head. "Loren Tate, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," she said, pressing a kiss to his lips again. "But, can we not go running through the streets screaming it from the tops of our lungs?" Loren asked him. Tyler cocked an eyebrow at her. "It is just that people have already been speculating about us being a couple or my being a couple with Eddie, and I am sure someone is probably going to start freaking out on twitter about Cameron and I—especially after I raced out of _Aroma_ after you. I just…I want this to be something special between us for awhile. I don't want the media to drag it through the dirt and mess everything up even before it has begun. Besides, I would also like to tell my mom and friends about us, not the paparazzi." She looked into his eyes. "Is that okay?" She whispered softly.

"That's fine. You are already starting to think like a celebrity, Loren." Tyler joked, leading her out of the apartment.

"Thanks!" She said, nudging him with her shoulder. "I drove here in Mel's car. Can I just follow you and then we can go our separate ways after dinner? We will be less likely to kiss each other goodnight if we are more in public. Then, we can keep this between us for longer." Tyler groaned.

"How can you expect me not to kiss you goodnight?!" He pouted as they exited the building and started to separate to head toward their cars.

"We will make do. For the time being!" She insisted, squeezing his hand briefly before walking to Mel's car.

Loren and Tyler had spent an enjoyable dinner together, acting just friendly enough that people would probably still speculate whether or not they were dating, especially after being seen the night before. They stopped at a small diner, where Loren's clothes didn't seem like that big of a deal, in comparison to other restaurants like _Rumor_, which had dress codes. After their dinner, Loren drove straight home to grab her diary and song book from her room before heading for Mel's. She collapsed on Mel's bed and sighed loudly, a broad grin on her face.

"What the hell happened?!" Mel squealed, and so Loren told her story. As they worked on homework, Loren couldn't help how her mind wandered to Tyler. Even though their relationship was probably completely insane, she couldn't help how she was feeling for him. She carefully set aside her homework and began writing the words to a new song. It was sensual and a lot sexier than her other songs were; it fit how she was feeling towards Tyler really well. When Mel saw her writing, she cocked an eyebrow at her. Loren grinned as she pushed the song book toward Mel. Her best friend's mouth dropped open as she read Loren's song, giggling.

_Put your lips close to mine  
As long as they don't touch  
Out of focus; eye to eye  
Till the gravity's too much  
And I'll do anything you say  
If you say it with your hands  
And I'd be smart to walk away  
But you're quicksand_

_This slope is treacherous_  
_This path is reckless_  
_This slope is treacherous_  
_And I, I, I like it_

_I can't decide if it's a choice_  
_Getting swept away_  
_I hear the sound of my own voice_  
_Asking you to stay_  
_And all we are is skin and bone, trained to get along_  
_Forever going with the flow but you're friction_

_This slope is treacherous_  
_This path is reckless_  
_This slope is treacherous_  
_I, I, I like it_

_Two headlights shine through the sleepless night_  
_And I will get you, get you alone_  
_Your name has echoed through my mind_  
_And I just think you should, think you should know_  
_That nothing safe is worth the drive_  
_And I will follow you, follow you home_  
_I'll follow you, follow you home_

_This hope is treacherous_  
_This day dream is dangerous_  
_This hope is treacherous_  
_I, I, I_  
_I, I, I_  
_I, I, I_

_Two headlights shine through the sleepless night_  
_And I will get you, get you alone_  
_Your name has echoed through my mind_  
_And I just think you should, think you should know_  
_That nothing safe is worth the drive_  
_And I will follow you, follow you home_  
_I'll follow you, follow you home_  
_I'll follow you, follow you home_  
_I'll follow you, follow you home_  
_This slope is treacherous_  
_I, I, I like it_

"You two are going to be going at like bunnies soon enough! I can totally tell." Loren blushed, crinkling her nose.

"I don't know about that…" She said, running a hand over the top of her head, grabbing hold of her bun for a moment before dropping her hand. "I mean…I haven't…Cam and I didn't…"

"I know you are still a virgin, but, Lo, from what I can tell, you two have sexual chemistry that would rival people in a porno or something." She grimaced at Mel's description of her and Tyler.

"That sounds vulgar. I just…I really like him, Mel. A lot. No matter what I do, I can't get him out of my head. I want to see where this can lead. I am not sure where this could go, but I like the idea of being Tyler's girlfriend."

"Because he gets you all hot and bothered."

"Mel!" She didn't want her friend to ruin this for her. "How do you feel about this? I know that you were hoping for Leddie, not Lyler. But, what do you think of us being together?" Loren asked, rolling her eyes and using her fingers to indicate quotes around the couple names.

"I don't know how I feel yet. I want you to be happy. I really liked Tyler as your friend, but this seems a little sudden. I mean, I know I joked about this happening, but I want to make sure that you don't rush into another romance and then get hurt, you know?" Loren sighed, knowing that Mel was on her side and caring about her.

"Me either, but I really want to try this out."

"Okay." Mel smiled at her.

"That is all I needed to hear." Loren grabbed her phone to post a new tweet.

_Love_To_Love_You: Had a VERY interesting afternoon. I found it to be very inspirational, though…wrote another song ; ) I think you all would LOVE it. Esp. someone specific_


	14. Chapter 14

**Somebody**

**Chapter 14**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights **_**Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendations: **_**Sick Inside**_** by Hope Partlow - a big shout out thank you to **hollywoodhieghtsforever** for making this song suggestion. I know that I had originally told you that I didn't know where I could fit this song in, but the last chapter kind of took me by surprise. The song doesn't fit completely, but it fits close enough for this story that I can use it. Thank you so much for suggesting it to me! Also, I will be referring to **_**Treacherous**_** by Taylor Swift again, but I am not repeating any of the lyrics.**

**Author's Note: I have a pretty even split between the number of people saying they kind of like the idea of Loren and Tyler together and those saying that they hate it. I promise you, this story ends with Loren and Eddie together. You just have to bear with me!**

**Okay, so in case you weren't keeping up with "when" the chapters are taking place I will give you a quick rundown of when the chapters take place: **

**Chapter 1**: September 8th, 2008/September 7th, 20012

**Chapter 2**: September 8th, 2012

**Chapter 3**: September 8th, 2012

**Chapter 4**: September 8th-11th, 2012 (briefly)/September 12th, 2012

**Chapter 5**: September 13th, 2012

**Chapter 6**: September 14th, 2012

**Chapter 7**: September 14th, 2012/September 15th, 2012

**Chapter 8**: September 15th, 2012/September 16th, 2012

**Chapter 9**: September 16th, 2012/September 22nd, 2012

**Chapter 10**: September 23rd, 2012

**Chapter 11**: September 27th, 2012

**Chapter 12**: September 28th, 2012

**Chapter 13**: September 29th, 2012

**Suffice to say, a lot has happened in the month of September, and this is only the beginning. The reason why I gave a rundown of when the chapters have taken place was because I am going to start jumping larger chunks of time in the upcoming chapters. I can't continue to write this story from a nearly day to day basis, or else I would have about 100 chapters. While I am sure a lot of people would love it, there would be quite of few that wouldn't stick with this story if I took so long to get to the Eddie and Loren coupling. **

**So, the dates for Chapter 14 are: **September 29th, 2012/September 30th, 2012

**This chapter was long and mentally exhausting. I am finally done it. I am so relieved to be done it. I think it turned out well, but it is soooo long. I just wanted to finish up September, which is why I didn't break it in half, even though I probably should have. **

* * *

After sending the tweet, Loren realized that once again her name was trending on twitter. Only this time, instead of people talking about the cute pictures of her and Tyler from the night before, they were talking about the pictures from today. Apparently the tweens who had taken her picture at _Aroma_ had taken several pictures of Loren and Cameron kissing, of Tyler catching them, and of Loren running after him when he left. For the first time since she started this whole process, she really hated the idea of being a singer. This was awful, because Cameron was going to get hurt because of all this speculation.

It was one thing that people were calling her things like a slut and a whore and a skank, because she was "going out with Tyler" and "hooking up with her ex-boyfriend;" it hurt to think that some people would say that about her, but she could get past that. The thing that was bothering her about it was that people were calling Cameron an idiot or an asshole for trying to break up and Tyler. He wasn't any of those things; he was a kind, good person, and she had hurt him by dragging him into all of this crap. She kissed him first, and she shouldn't have done that. But, a part of her didn't regret—as horrible as it was to think that; that part of her knew that she probably would have been dancing around her feelings for Tyler and Eddie if she didn't kiss Cameron. She just wished that she and Mel were studying at her place, then she wouldn't have had those people take pictures of them. It would have been controlled—the only people who would have found about it would have been Mel, Cameron, and her—and Tyler and Ella if they chose to share this. She couldn't change it now. All that she could do now was try to fix it.

Her first step would be to talk to Cameron and Ella. She needed to figure out if Ella had found out about the kiss yet, or she was still in the dark about it. If she didn't see that #LorenTateIsASlut is trending, then they might be able to explain this before she did get on twitter and find out what is going on that way. Loren decided to start with Cameron, because this was primarily affecting him. She called his phone and took a deep breath, waiting for the call to go through. It kept ringing and ringing, and she was afraid that he was just going to let the call go to his voicemail, but in the end he picked up. "Loren, hi…" He muttered; his voice was quiet and strained—full of sadness. Her heart practically broke into two.

"Cam, I am so sorry." She said, pressing her hand to her forehead for a moment. She glanced at Mel; her friend's eyes had grown huge when she realized what was going on. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed her laptop. She began typing furiously, but Loren didn't have time to worry about her; she had to focus on Cam.

"I know you are. It isn't your fault. This happened, and now we have to deal." Cameron said, and Loren shook her head, feeling the tears fill her eyes.

"It is my fault! I shouldn't have kissed you. It only made everything worse. I was so concerned about you and Ella, and I was feeling so insecure about our relationship. I just…I shouldn't have kissed you. It only screwed up everything. For that I am sorry. I am so sorry that your name is getting drug through the dirt. I am so sorry that this happened."

"It is going to be okay. We just…I know that a lot of people aren't going to believe us about this, if we try to explain it, but we learn to live with it. Right?"

"You shouldn't have to learn to live with it. You are supposed to be out of the limelight and to go to college and fall in love and get married and to grow old and randomly get people tweeting you about what was it like to date Loren Tate back in the day. That is what you are supposed to have to deal with. Not this. Wait, that kind of sounded like I am full of myself, but you know what I mean…"

"Loren, I don't blame you. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. That first kiss, the one that you initiated was nothing—it was barely a peck, and any broken up couple would be able to understand why it could happen, especially couples like us who broke up not because of hurt and betrayal or anything like that, but because of necessity and because we didn't fit together anymore. It was my fault for kissing you that second time. It was that kiss that did us in, because that turned into…whatever it was that happened."

"It was just another episode of us saying goodbye. Hopefully, the third time's the charm," Loren tried to make a joke; Cam let out a humorless chuckle. She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling so many different things at once that it nearly took her breath away. "Have you talked to Ella?"

"She won't talk to me." Loren closed her eyes, feeling even worse. "She keeps ignoring my calls, and she sent a text saying that this is what she was pushing for originally, and I should have figured out that this is what I wanted before I pursued anything with her. This just sucks, because I think I am falling for her. I know that earlier I told you that we were just talking, but I think it took this kiss and losing her to realize how much I actually want to be with her. Does that make sense? I meant every word about not seeing her as anything more than a friend during our relationship, but now that I have actually let myself actually feel something for her, I know that it works. I still love you, Lo, don't get me wrong, but I think I might be falling in love with Ella. It just sucks that she won't let me tell her that."

"Oh, Cameron! I will fix this. I will call her right now and try to explain what happened. I will call you back!" She hung up on Cameron.

"I am about to post a blog about this…" Mel said to Loren, who shook her head and waved it off.

"Forget about that right now. We need to fix this between Cameron and Ella. You can blog to your heart's content later, but we need to fix this. Neither one of this deserve this. Ella refuses to answer his calls. Hopefully, she will listen to mine. If not, you are going to try her. Then, Adam."

"Okay…" Mel said, setting her laptop aside. Loren quickly called Ella's number, hoping like hell that she would pick up. Mel texted Adam to get ready to call Ella if need be and to tell her to answer a call from Loren or Cameron. It went straight to voicemail, and Loren groaned. She quickly redialed the number, again, hoping that this time, Ella would pick up. Again, it went straight to voicemail, but this time only after two rings, which means that Ella had declined the call.

"Shit. Your turn." Mel nodded, and she quickly dialed Ella's number. Again, it went to voicemail, making Loren groan and slam her head onto the kitchen table where she and Mel were working on their school work. Mel tried to call Ella again; the call went to voicemail.

"I will call Adam." Mel quickly called Adam to tell him that it was his turn. "Adam's on it." Loren began pacing the living room; the ten minutes that had passed since Mel had hung up with Adam were excruciating for her. She needed to fix this more than she needed anything in her life. Suddenly, Loren's phone was buzzing. She dove for it, seeing that she had a text message. It was from Ella.

"It's from Ella!" Loren said, just as Mel's phone began ringing; while Mel was answering her phone, Loren was looking at the text message. Her heart fell into her stomach when she read what the normally sweet, bubbly girl sent.

"Okay, thanks for trying, Adam. Talk to you later." Mel said, sighing and hanging up the phone. "He said she wouldn't answer…wait, did you say that Ella texted you?" Loren nodded, handing the phone over to Mel. "'Loren, stop calling and texting me. I don't want to hear what you or your friends have to say.' Oh, Lo…"

Loren groaned, slamming her fists onto the table. Mel carefully put Loren's phone down. She laid a hand on Loren's arm, rubbing her lightly. "How can we fix this, Mel?" Loren turned to her best friend with a hopeful look on her face. If anyone could solve this, it would be Mel.

"I don't know." Mel whispered, shaking her head. "I wish I could know what to do." Loren felt the tears sting her eyes. She grabbed her phone from where Mel had put it down. Just as she was about to call Ella again, an incoming call flashed up on her screen. It was from Eddie.

"Eddie, hi. So, you probably have seen twitter. Listen, I can't really talk about this now."

"Yeah, I was just calling to see how you are doing. I know how hard it is to deal with the negative publicity; people have said a lot of crap things about me over the last five years that I have been in this business. It sucks…but, I have found that the best thing you can do is to not let them see you hurt by it. So, instead of ignoring all of the twitter posts and nasty media stuff, you should think up a small statement that my publicist can release for you. Nothing too big; something like this is a personal matter that you are dealing with and that you would appreciate some privacy during this time." Loren knew that he was trying to help, so she tried to calm herself down.

"Eddie, I really appreciate you calling to check on me. I honestly could care less about what people are saying about me. Even if this all went away tomorrow because of something as stupid as a kiss with an ex-boyfriend, I wouldn't care. All I care about is that my friend is hurt because of me."

"Oh, right. I know you said that Tyler wasn't your boyfriend, but the way that you ran out after him like that in the picture…I mean, it kind of implied that you two are more than friends…"

"I already told you that whether or not I am dating Tyler has nothing to do with your relationship with him." Loren warned.

"No! That isn't what I meant. I know…you see, I…uggh! What I am trying to say is that I know that I made a choice to stay with Chloe. I know that I have no right to make any judgments about your romantic life." Loren took a deep breath and blew it out. "What I was trying to say is that I am sorry if things are now messed up between you and Tyler now because of all this twitter stuff."

"Things with Tyler are completely fine. We worked out everything this afternoon." Loren told him, not elaborating on how _fine_ they were. "The problem is with Cameron. He and Ella have started…talking, is what he called it…and she saw the pictures on twitter and refuses to answer any of our calls. I was hoping that if I could explain what happened to her, then she would take Cam back, because he said he is falling in love with her. I just…I am so mad at myself for letting this happen. I blame myself because I started all this by giving him a small goodbye kiss during our conversation, and he blames himself for responding with a much bigger kiss, which I reciprocated and then he reciprocated again. It is just a big mess, and I just…I need to fix this, because he is an amazing person and his name is being drug through the dirt."

"Oh…right, I didn't even think of Cameron. Is there anything that I can do? Maybe I could try calling her?"

"No, she already texted me saying that she doesn't want to hear from me or my friends."

"Huh…let me think for a moment." He was silent. Loren took a sip of the water that Mel had sent down in front of her when she first began talking to Eddie. "I know you are going to hate me for turning this conversation back to Tyler, but from the pictures, he looked pretty upset when he stormed out of the café. How did you fix things with him?" Loren smiled as she thought back to earlier in the afternoon with Tyler. Suddenly, it dawned on her what she needed to do.

"Eddie, you are brilliant!" Loren turned to Mel. "Mel, how do you feel about a road trip tomorrow? Text the guys."

"How do you get a road trip from my asking you about how you worked things out with Tyler?" Eddie asked confused.

"I'm in, but what about work?" Mel asked. "Don't you have work at noon?"

"Shit…" Loren muttered. "Eddie, fancy being a waiter tomorrow," she joked.

"Seriously, where are you road-tripping to?"

"To fix this, I am going to San Diego. Ella goes to USD, so if she won't take our calls, then we go to her place."

"You can't be serious."

"I went to Tyler's place this afternoon to talk to him. We worked things out and then went to dinner before I went back to Mel's house. So, if I want to fix Cameron and Ella, then I have to go to her."

"Well, it sounds like you have a plan now." Loren didn't have time to worry about the weirdness in Eddie's voice. She needed to focus on fixing the situation with Ella.

"Yup. Thanks for your help and for calling today, Eddie. I really appreciate it." Loren paused. "You are a good friend."

"You are welcome, Loren. I am glad that I could help. Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks! Have a good night. Are you coming next Saturday to the recording studio?"

"Yeah, I will be there."

"Okay, I will see you at eight then."

"Good night, Loren."

"Night, Eddie." Loren hung up the phone and immediately began texting Summer, Emily, and Lily. "I am texting the girls from work to see if anyone can cover my shift tomorrow."

_Loren: May I ask a major favor? Would any of you be able to cover my shift tomorrow afternoon?_

"I hope so." Loren began packing up her school books, thankful that she got done most of her work before she wrote the new song and realized what was happening on twitter. While she waited for the girls to get back to her, she checked out twitter again. People were wondering if her tweet was in reference to Tyler or Cameron, and they were still saying some pretty hurtful things. She decided to check out Ella and Cameron's twitters. Cameron still hadn't posted anything since the day before, which was directed toward Ella, saying that he couldn't wait to see her next weekend. Ella, on the other hand, had updated just after she had sent Loren the text.

_*EllaWilliams*: My heart is breaking into a million pieces…_

Loren showed Mel Ella's twitter update, who frowned sadly. "I hope these girls get back to me, soon, because I need to fix this." Loren's phone buzzed, seeing that she received a text from Summer. She read the text and groaned, quickly texting her response.

_Summer: Sorry, Lo! I can't. I requested tomorrow off so that my BF and I could go to visit his g-mom after church at the nursing home. I saw what is happening on twitter. It is crazy! Those people don't know what they are talking about. You and Cam are such sweethearts! Is everything okay with Tyler?_

_Loren: That's okay! Have fun tomorrow with Kyle. Yeah, it sucks that this is happening, especially because I am still a nobody in the business. Things are great with me and Tyler. We worked things out. Thanks for asking, though._

"Summer is out." Loren said simply. Her phone began to vibrate again with incoming texts from both Lily and Emily.

_Lily: I wish I could help, but I have a massive project that I need to finish that is due on Tuesday. SO SORRY, Lo! I saw twitter. I officially hate people. I have sent out a couple of tweets in support of you and Cam, though. What's going on with Tyler?_

_Emily: I can't! I am in Ohio! I flew out on Thursday night for a college interview on Friday and I won't be back until Sunday night! Sorry!_

_Loren: Em, Lil, no problem! Good luck on your project/interview. Things with Tyler are fine, though, Lil._

"I hope Adam is okay with working for me tomorrow, because none of the girls can do it." Loren said as she began texting him the situation. "It sucks that he can't go on the road trip with us. Honestly, you don't have to go, either. This is between Cam, Ella, and me."

"Hell, no! I will be there. I am a witness to what happened. You guys were just saying goodbye and the pics are all out of context."

"No, they weren't that much out of context, Mels."

"Yes, they were. They make it look so much worse than what really happened." Loren's phone buzzed again, seeing that Adam was fine with working for her.

"Thank God! Adam is going to cover me."

"Good. That boy knows what is good for him!" Mel joked. Loren stood up, grabbing her school bag from the table.

"Cam's car is the most reliable, considering I don't know if Mom needs the car tomorrow and Sonny is temperamental."

"Yeah…I texted him about the road trip, and he says he is in, but is doubtful that things are going to work out."

"His attitude sucks. I better go call my boyfriend to talk to him about what is going on."

"Holy crap. I totally forgot about Tyler." Loren's eyebrows rose. "He didn't call or text about the twitter stuff yet?"

"Nope." Loren shrugged. Mel just stared at her. "There is nothing weird about it. Tyler doesn't go on twitter as obsessively as we do. I think he tweets maybe once a day, if that."

"I didn't say anything. See you in the morning? What time?"

"I am going to text Cam to meet us at the café at seven, so that we can get there as soon as possible. We are getting breakfast to go again."

"Got it. See you tomorrow!"

As soon as she got home, Loren called Tyler as she sat at her desk and got ready to write about her day in her diary.

"Hi," Loren could hear the grin in Tyler's voice when he answered the phone. She couldn't keep her smile off of her face, either.

"Hi, Tyler." She took a deep breath before starting in on what had happened since they last seen each other. "So, have you gone on twitter yet?"

"No, why?" Loren chewed on her bottom lip.

"So, a couple of people got pictures of me and Cam kissing in the café, of you showing up and then storming off, and of me chasing after you." Loren sighed. "So, of course people already thought we were dating, so that turned into a lot of nasty things about how I am a slut and stuff for cheating on you. People were saying a lot of hurtful things about Cam, too. So, of course Ella saw that, and now she won't talk to Cameron. I just…I feel so bad for them, and I have to do something to fix this." Loren leaned her forehead into the palm of her hand. "Cam said that he is in love with her, and I can't let myself be happy with you when he is so miserable without Ella. It is my fault. I kissed him first, because we were talking about our old relationship and how I was always jealous of his friendship with Ella and how I was so insecure about how he was just waiting for the moment to be with her when he was with me. He told me that it wasn't the truth—that he always was fully committed to me, and it was me who was holding back from him. I told him the truth about my dad, and—"

"What truth about your dad?" Loren crinkled her nose.

"Oh, right, I guess I never told you. On my fourth birthday, my dad woke me up really early in the morning and took me to see this meteor shower. After it was over, he took me out to breakfast at a diner before bringing me home. I was asleep with a huge smile on my face, so my mom didn't have the heart to be mad at him. So, they let me sleep for awhile and then we spent the day together, just the three of us." Loren felt the tears fill her eyes as she talked about her dad. "The next day, my dad went out for a pack of cigarettes, despite the fact that he didn't smoke, and never came back." Loren whispered.

"Oh, Lo…" Tyler said. "I am so sorry to hear that."

"A couple of weeks later, my mom got the divorce papers in the mail. He left her everything, including me, and disappeared. I haven't heard from him since that day. It messed me up; I have always had trouble making lasting relationships, which is why I am pretty much only friends with Mel and Adam. I mean, I have other friends, but it really takes a lot for me to open up to people. I have to feel really safe with them. I never even talked about this kind of stuff with anyone, including Cam, and I was with him for over two years. He was right when he said that I was holding back in our relationship. I never really let him fully into my life. When I was talking about this to Eddie—"

"You told Eddie about your dad and your relationship with Cam?" Tyler's voice was strained and tense, making it easy for Loren to tell that he was pissed that she told Eddie such intimate details about her life.

"Well, yeah. I mean, he and I met the day after my eighteenth birthday—the fourteenth anniversary of my dad's abandonment of my mom and me. He just caught me at a really bad moment. I was a total mess that day, and he was there because it was the anniversary of his mom's death. That is how all of this started. I accidentally left my phone behind, and he broke into it to find out who I was and where to return it. He came across me singing a few lines of _Mars_. He tweeted the lyrics, and everything went from there." Loren explained.

"Okay, so I get that you might have opened up to him about your dad if you met on the anniversary of the day that he left, but you talked to him about Cameron, which wasn't the easiest thing to pull out of you, and I am your boyfriend, so…" Loren closed her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. When she composed herself, she decided to answer Tyler to the best of her ability. She knew that nothing about this would be one-hundred percent fixed, but she was going to be honest with him—to a point. She didn't want to lie to Tyler, but she didn't want to hurt him either.

"When Eddie and I met up later that night so that I could get my phone back, he asked about Cameron, because Cameron had been texting him a lot. I told him the truth that Cameron was my ex-boyfriend and that we were thinking about getting back together at the time. Eddie seemed to be able to read me well enough in that moment to see that I wasn't exactly excited about getting back together with Cameron. When he asked me about my obvious discomfort about it, I was honest with him. I told him that I love Cam and that I think I will always love him. At the same time, I wasn't sure if I was ever really in love with him." Loren paused again.

"Cameron was right when he said that I had held back in our relationship. I feel like I don't really know what love is. Not really. My mom was the most amazing mother in the world; I love her to death, and I know that she feels the same way towards me, but I never saw what a loving romantic relationship looks like. My dad bailed on us so early, and I don't have any recollection of my parents holding hands, kissing, saying 'I love you,' or anything like that. For that reason, I feel like I don't know how to love right." Loren blew out a breath. "My parents were so young when they had me. My mom told me that she met my dad when she was twenty-one and he was twenty-two. They were at a MK concert in some bar; after the concert was over, they stayed at the bar and got really drunk. They were there until the bar closed; when they left, they decided to go back to his place and were really irresponsible in terms of protection. They traded phone numbers, but nothing really came of their one-night stand. Three months later, my mom realized that she was pregnant with me. She found the number for Trent McCall and decided that the right thing to do was to tell him that she was pregnant, so she called him. Trent decided that he was going to try to stick it out with us.

"My parents didn't get together until the day I was born. They were just friends, I guess, and then when my dad was there, seeing her have me, he decided that they should be a family. So, he proposed to my mom. My mom says that it was one of the best and worst decisions of her life to agree to marry him that day. She said that she had fallen in love with my dad, but they were too young. They were too young to be married, they didn't know each other well enough, and they were way too young to try to be parents. My mom grew up really quickly; she had to. She was a mom at twenty-one, with a crappy waitressing job and living in her Uncle Ed's basement while she took classes at the community college.

"My dad didn't grow up. He still drank and partied with his friends on the weekends, even though he now had a wife and kid that he needed to help support. He worked, but it was an entry level position that didn't really pay much at all. My mom had to get a second job and drop out of school. My mom's best friend, Ellie, she would babysit me when both of my parents were at work and my Uncle Ed and Aunt Julia couldn't watch me. It was hard, and they fought a lot, but my mom was going to stick it out, because she loved me and she loved Trent. Then, Trent bailed.

"They had been married for a little over three and a half years, and they hadn't known each other for that much longer. I guess I can understand not being ready to be a parent. My mom told me that she wasn't ready when she had me, but she had to step up and figure it out. He didn't do that, and he left us. He was making a lot more money at that point, so mom could quit her second job and go back to school. She got her associate's degree in business management and started taking classed online to get her bachelor's. Things were much easier, but they still fought a lot. He didn't love us enough. He left my mom everything—his crappy one-bedroom apartment, all of the money his bank account, except for a thousand dollars that he used to buy a train ticket and vanish. Well, that isn't true. I am sure that my mom could have found him if she really wanted to look, but she didn't have the time. She had work and school and me to focus on.

"So, I don't know enough about love. All I know is that my dad bailed. My mom blames herself. She thinks that it is her fault, because she wasn't enough for him to keep him around. She thinks that she put too much pressure on him to be a dad and a husband. I blame myself. There are moments when I feel like I wasn't good enough for him. Maybe if I had been a boy, he would have stayed. Maybe if I wasn't such an annoying kid, he would have stayed. Maybe if I wasn't around, he would have stayed with my mom. On the intellectual level, I know that it wasn't my fault, and he would have bailed no matter what, but I can't help but feel like it was my fault. It makes me sick to see what he did to my mom, because she is so amazing. I don' know…God, I just hate talking about this." Lore said, wiping at her cheeks. It hurt so much to think about everything that she had gone through. She hated talking about it.

"Loren, I need to say something to you, but I need a minute to really figure out what I want to say, okay?"

"Okay." Lore wiped at the tears that slipped down her cheek. She looked at twitter, even though it was like torturing herself. People were still saying horrible things, trying to decide who exactly she was "inspired" by. She knew that eventually she was going to have to say something about what happened earlier in the afternoon, but she was mentally exhausted. It had been a long day, and now she was having an extremely serious conversation with her boyfriend of barely three hours.

"Okay, so I think I am good." Loren laughed humorlessly. "I don't know what it is like to lose a parent in the same way that you lost your dad, or at all. Both of my parents are alive and well and still married in Fresno, and I got to see them every couple of weeks for Saturday dinners." Tyler paused. "So, I am not going to pretend for a second to understand what it is like to have your dad walk away from you when you were just barely a kid. I also can't imagine growing up, wondering whether or not it is your fault that your dad left. I also know that I haven't known you very long at all, but I know that from the moment that I met you and had you in my life, I have become a better person. You are so kind and good and smart and independent and strong and so many other amazing things that you have made me want to be a better person. When I first met you that day at the club, I took one look at you and saw how hurt you were, and I knew that I was going to do whatever I could to make you smile. It was the best decision I ever made, because you are a great person. I was selfish in trying to use your hurt over Eddie in order to get over Chloe, but you were so willing to help me. Ever since the moment I met you, I have been thinking about you and how amazing you are. I only want to know more." Loren couldn't help the smile that came onto her face.

"Tyler…" She whispered. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm not done." He took a breath. "Even though you never saw what two people were like when they were in love, you do know love. You have an amazingly strong, wonderful mother who sacrificed everything to raise you and make sure that you are happy. You have a best friend who would probably take a bullet for you and who would destroy anyone who hurt you in some way. I don't know much about Adam, but if Mel likes him, then he must be a really good person. Then, there is Cameron. He obviously loved you and you obviously loved him; even though things didn't work out between the two of you, he was involved in making you into the great person that you are.

"As for not knowing whether or not you were in love with him, I think that you could have been. But, being in love with you are fifteen is different from when you are in love at sixteen or seventeen or eighteen. You grew up and you changed, and you fell out of love. The next time you fall in love, it is going to be an entirely new experience, because you are a different person since the last time. But, you are wiser now, too, so it might be easier for you to stay in love than it was for you and Cameron. As for not being able to share things with him and holding yourself back from the relationship, that is probably true, too. You were young, Loren, and you didn't know or understand how to express your feelings well enough yet. But, I think that by writing music, it has helped you a lot. Going through high school has helped you a lot. Meeting Eddie and starting this whole process was probably what was needed to break down the last of those walls, because you finally met someone who could have a small idea of what you went through with losing your dad. It might not be the same experience, but it was close enough that it allowed you to finally start talking about things. What I am trying to say, Loren, is that you know love. Even if it isn't in the way that you thought that you should have known it, you still know it, because you are surrounded by people that love and cherish you."

Loren took a moment to really think about what Tyler was saying. What he was saying did make sense. Wasn't that what she was saying to everyone all along, that she and Cameron weren't the same people from the time that they first began dating or when they broke up as they are now. She knew that a part of her—had she really allowed herself to pursue her feelings toward him—could have fallen in love with Eddie, and that love would have been different from the one that she had with Cameron. Now, she was with Tyler. Even though they had just met, she found it was so easy to talk to him. At first, it felt awkward opening up to him, but each time she did it, she felt so much better. He was right when he said that meeting Eddie seemed to be the trigger for her to break down the walls that she had built up around herself, because she finally found someone who could understand what it was like to lose a parent. Mel and Adam had parents who were happily in love and still together. Her mom's parents were happily married until her grandmother died when she was seven. Her grandfather lives in a nursing home, and they go to visit him regularly. They are involved in her mom's extended families' lives as well, and there aren't any couples that divorced with children, so she didn't really know anyone that had lost a parent. Well, aside from Adrianna, but that relationship had always been strained, so she never felt comfortable talking to the blond. Maybe now that their parents were dating, Loren should extend an olive branch. They have a lot in common.

"Loren?" She jumped when she heard Tyler's voice. She must have zoned out while she was thinking.

"Sorry…I was…I was thinking about what you said." She smiled softly to herself, wiping at the occasional tear that slipped down her cheek. "Thank you." She didn't know what else to say beyond that.

"You're welcome, Loren."

They were quiet for a few moments, and Loren listened to the sound of his breathing. She closed her eyes, just listening, taking in everything that was Tyler. She didn't think that it was possible, but in that day, Tyler had replaced everything that she had been thinking and feeling towards Eddie. She didn't think it was a bad thing—it was actually rather healthy, considering that _he_ is her boyfriend, _not Eddie._ But, there was a small part of her that felt bad or guilty about that realization. Perhaps it was at a purely selfish place that she had hoped that not only would she get her dream job, but she would also get the dream guy in the form of Eddie Duran. But, perhaps Tyler is really who her dream guy was. Perhaps he was the guy that she could fall in love with—the one that the two of them had been talking about only a few minutes before. Loren glanced at the clock and realized that it was nearing eleven, and she was emotionally drained. She needed sleep.

"You have officially made me feel a thousand times better." Loren said, but she was hit with a yawn, so the last few words came out strangely. She laughed when she finished her yawn. "Alright, I should probably get to sleep. I have a crazy day ahead of me. Mel, Cam, and I are road tripping to San Diego so that I can fix what is happening between Cam and Ella."

"Huh…" Tyler was quiet for a moment, and Loren was concerned about Tyler's residual jealousy over Cameron.

"Are you worried about Cameron and I being in the car together for like two or three hours? Mel is going to be there, and nothing is going to happen between us again. I swear it. I want to be with you." Loren said quickly.

"No! Loren, calm down. I believe you. I trust you." Loren smiled at his words. "I am just shocked by your plan. Where did you come up with that?"

"Well, I came up with it after talking to Eddie." She said it hesitantly, waiting for some kind of argument to come from this. Tyler was silent, however. Loren felt like that was ten times worse than him getting pissed. "Before you jump to conclusions, he saw all the horrible things happening on twitter. He called to check on me and to say that I could use his publicist to release a statement or something like that. He also said that he was sorry if it messed up things between you and me."

"Yeah, I am sure he was really concerned about that…" Tyler muttered, and Loren frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Ty…" She said warningly. "I told him that things were fine between you and I, and I said that I needed to fix things with Ella. Since he met her, he asked if I wanted him to try calling her. When I said that that probably wouldn't work, he asked how you and I worked things out; I realized that I sought you out—I drove to your place and I talked to you and made things right. So, why wouldn't that work for her and Cam."

"Well, it did work out for us, but I want you to be prepared that it might not work out between Ella and Cam." Loren didn't want to think about that. "So, can I go?"

"What? Is this about Cam?"

"No," Tyler said, chuckling. "I want to be there for you and to support you, and it might help if she sees you and I united—I trust you, so she feel better about trusting Cam." Loren thought about that, smiling. She would love it if Tyler came. It was something a boyfriend would do.

"Okay," she said, unable to keep the sound of her grin out of her voice. Is that even possible, she thought to herself.

"You are going to have about three hours to kill. You should write her a song saying that you are sorry."

"That is a great idea. I just hope that I will be able to do it." This situation was very pressure-filled.

"It doesn't have to be something really awesome or anything, but it is the thought that counts. Even if it is only a few lines, she will know that you mean it."

"I hope so. I don't want her to think that I orchestrated this whole situation to get inspiration for another song."

"Don't include it in your album." Loren cocked her head to the side. That did sound like a good idea.

"Right, okay. I need sleep. Not only do I need to save a relationship tomorrow, but I also need to write a kick ass song. Good night!"

"Good night, Lo. Sweet dreams."

* * *

They left early the next morning, each of them sporting huge drinks—teas for Loren and Tyler, and coffees for Cam and Mel—and a big box of donuts that they passed around the car while the drove on the highway to San Diego. Cam was driving his dad's SUV, with Mel in the passenger seat, handing him his drink, a donut, or a napkin when he requested one. Loren and Tyler were in the back. Loren barely paid any attention to him during the drive as she looked over everything she had written in her diary the night before with her song book held open in her lap trying to write the words to a song that would be enough of an apology for Ella.

The words that kept sticking out to her from her diary was that she felt sick inside for the way that she hurt both Cameron and Ella. Other things that stuck out to her was that how right the kiss felt at the moment, but after it was over, she knew that it was a stupid mistake. As she read the words she wrote, she realized exactly where she wanted to go with the song. Loren closed her diary and slipped into her own world as she began writing what she wanted to say to Ella.

At the end of the song, Loren realized that things weren't exactly what happened between her and Cameron, but the overall message was what was important. She just hoped that by writing this song—although not quite following the true story—would become just a story one day. She wanted this song around forever, whether she ever chose to record it or not, as a reminder of what she went through for Ella and Cam—to see them happy and together. Also, it served as a reminder never to get into that situation again.

She had strummed her guitar quietly, working on the music to go along with the song she had written; Mel was arguing with Cameron over what radio station they should listen to. Tyler was seated at the end of the row, facing her, watching her. Loren's eyes were closed as she strummed the guitar, humming the words in her head. A few times, she frowned when it didn't seem to fit the words right. She would shift the guitar in her lap and grab the song book, erasing a word or a line or the entire verse and re-write it, before turning her attention back to the guitar again. After a while, she sighed and set the guitar back in its case and placed it back on the floor. Tyler leaned over and ran his hand through her hair. She turned to look at him and gave him a tired, sad smile. Tyler just responded by pressing a light kiss to her forehead and then taking her hand in his, interlacing their fingers. "Close your eyes. I will wake you when we get close." She nodded, undoing her seatbelt and moving into the center seat. She buckled herself in with the lap belt in the middle of the seat and leaned against Tyler, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her so that she leaned more fully against his side and laid her head on his chest. She fell asleep like that.

Loren felt a little bit better when Tyler carefully nudged her to wake her when they arrived at the campus. She hoped that this would work out the way that she wanted it to. She hated that she hurt Ella, but she hated hurting Cameron even worse. She still hadn't posted anything on twitter, and people seemed to find something else more important to talk about, but a few people were tweeting that her silence meant guilt. Tyler had tweeted the night before that the day had been great, leading some people to wonder if they were ever really together. Loren hoped that more people would believe that, because even though they are together now, the kisses she shared with Cameron hadn't taken place when she was with Tyler, and that was all that mattered. She wasn't a cheater. She and Cameron were both technically single. That was all that mattered. She didn't like to think about the fact that she had made a drastic mistake with Eddie only two weeks prior. She had been a cheater then. Him more so than her, but she was still a cheater on that Sunday afternoon at their secret spot.

They climbed out of the car and made their way to the dorm that Ella was living in. Tyler had taken the guitar from Loren's hands and interlaced their fingers as they walked toward the building. Cam was dressed in a pair of khakis and a light blue cotton button-down shirt with white sneakers. Mel had tried to convince him to dress up, but he had refused, saying that he wanted to be comfortable for the drive. He did listen to her and brought a single red rose. Mel was wearing a teal three-quarter length shirt with huge bright orange flowers on it and a pair of orange Capri pants with her chunky teal plastic jewelry and white flats. Loren had opted for a pair of jean Capri pants, a pair of white sneakers, and a loose white sweater over a brown tank top. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. Tyler wore a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt with a black zip-up sweatshirt and a black baseball cap. All of them wore sunglasses. Loren and Tyler needed them to keep a lower profile. Someone was exiting the building just as they were entering, so they got in without having to wait for someone to enter or leave. Cam knew what room Ella was staying in so they tried to look inconspicuous as they walked through the building, because they had to remove their sunglasses. They wondered the building until they found the room that Ella was staying in.

Loren nudged Cam to knock on the door, but he held back, suddenly nervous. "My palms are sweating. What if this doesn't work, Lo? I don't know if I can do this." He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced at her. Loren frowned apologetically. She was nervous that this wouldn't work, as well, but she didn't want to voice it. Mel groaned and rolled her eyes, pounding on the door for them. Cam looked at her wide-eyed. The door flew open, revealing a sad and very confused Ella. Her red hair was piled high on her head in a messy bun; she wore no makeup and her eyes were puffy and red beneath her glasses. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top with knee high socks and fuzzy slippers on her feet. Her roommate was gone.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms in discomfort.

"We came to talk." Mel said, pushing past Ella into the room. "May we come in?" She asked as she dropped into Ella's desk chair. Cam, Loren, and Tyler followed her into the room, standing around awkwardly. Ella groaned, shutting the door behind them and leaning her back against it.

"There isn't anything to say." She said, and her voice quivered with sadness.

"Ella, please let me explain." Loren walked to Ella.

"I would like to see you try." Ella said, moving past Loren and dropping onto her bed, crossing her legs beneath her and clutching the pillow to her chest. She waved her hand toward her roommate's bed and desk chair. "Go ahead and sit." Tyler took the chair and Cameron sat down carefully on the end of the other girl's bed. Loren moved to Ella's bed and sat down hesitantly at the end of it, facing Ella.

"By the way, this is Tyler." Loren said, nodding toward him. "Yesterday, Mel and I were doing homework at the café, and we couldn't figure out our calc homework. I told Mel to invite Cameron along to help us work on it. When he arrived, we started talking about the pictures of me and Tyler on the gossip sites and twitter, which led us to start talking about you. I was kind of shocked and a little hurt to hear that you and Cameron were…talking." Loren scrunched her nose at that word. She didn't like it, because it wasn't an accurate description of what Ella and Cameron were doing, but they weren't exactly dating, so that didn't fit either. Ella opened her mouth to say something, but Loren held up her hand.

"I know that it wasn't fair of me to feel upset over the fact that you and Cameron were starting something, and honestly, I had hoped that you would, because I always thought that you two would make the perfect couple, but actually hearing him say it upset me at the time. The reason why it upset me was because during the time that Cameron and I were dating, I always felt insecure about our relationship, because I felt like I was competing with you. We hung out with you and your boyfriends so much during the two and a half years that Cam and I were together, so I felt like he was trying to replace what he felt for you with me." Loren paused, glancing at Cam and smiling sadly at him. "Cameron told me that the reason why he was trying to spend so much time with you and your boyfriends at first was because he wanted to make sure that he knew what he should and shouldn't do with his girlfriend, and then we all became pretty close friends so when we would hang out with groups, it was customary to include you. I guess it was a little shocking to hear him say that, because I was always so sure that the two of you were the perfect couple, because you both are some of the most amazing people I have ever been able to meet."

"I thought that you two were perfect together." Ella whispered, as she slid a few fingers under her glasses on the right side to wipe at her tears.

"I wish that I had known this while we were dating, because I wouldn't have felt so…resentful of my friendship with you and the friendship that the two of you had." Loren said, reaching out to carefully lay her hand on Ella's knee. She tensed for a moment, but she didn't push Loren's hand away, so Loren thought that she was making some progress with the redhead. "Cam told me that it was me who was holding back in our relationship, not him. I pulled him aside, and we started talking. He was right when he said that I held back. I kept so much from him, because I built up all of these walls after my dad left when I was little. I have trouble trusting people, and I didn't do a good job at fully letting Cameron in. We hugged, and when I pulled out of the hug, I gave him a kiss…It wasn't even a real kiss; it was more of a peck."

"Then, I kissed her." Cam said quietly from across the room. Ella's face changed; it showed even more hurt and betrayal and sadness than it had before. It was easier for her to believe that it was Loren who initiated everything, because that meant that there was the possibility that Cam still wanted her more than he wanted Loren. Knowing that Cam initiated the bigger kiss, it meant that there was something that he was still holding on to about his relationship with Loren.

"The pictures were out of context, Ella." Loren said, squeezing her knee a little. "We were feeling so much sadness and hurt over our relationship at the same time that we were still feeling love. This kiss felt right, because it was easy and familiar and safe. The kiss felt wrong, because we both knew that things were over between us and because we both had someone else that we had feelings for." She glanced at Tyler and smiled at him. "I hate that I hurt you and Tyler by kissing Cameron, but I don't regret the kiss. Cameron and I didn't have the easiest breakup last year, because he moved. We didn't breakup because one of us cheated or fell out of love or anything like that. We broke up because it was too hard to be apart. When we decided not to get back together a few weeks ago, I thought that we had the closure we needed during that phone call, but it took the kiss yesterday to really say goodbye. The part of the kiss that I regret is knowing I hurt you." Loren took Ella's hand in hers. "I wrote you a song…it isn't exactly word for word what happened, but it the meaning and the feelings behind it are the same."

Tyler stood up and handed Loren her guitar case; Loren opened it and took out her guitar and pulled her songbook from her purse. Tyler took the case back and sat down again at the roommate's desk. Loren opened her songbook to the page where she had written the song. Using her foot, she held the book open and got the guitar situated in her lap. She began to play the guitar and carefully began singing.

_"I'm just a girl who  
Kissed a boy who  
Is in love with someone else  
I didn't mean to  
Feel the way I do  
It just happened by itself_

_"And now I'm sick inside_  
_Yeah, it makes me wanna cry_  
_I'm so sorry about last night_  
_Yeah, it happened so fast_  
_I wanted it to last_  
_In the moment, it felt so right_  
_But now I'm sick inside_

_"He stopped by my house_  
_We were hanging out_  
_He was wondering where you are_  
_We went walking_  
_We were just talking_  
_Then, he kissed me by his car_

_"And now I'm sick inside_  
_Yeah, it makes me wanna cry_  
_I'm so sorry about last night_  
_Yeah, it happened so fast_  
_I wanted it to last_  
_In the moment, it felt so right_  
_But now I'm sick inside_

_"Now I'm stuck with this feeling in the pit of my soul_  
_Guess I should of had a little self control_  
_I knew that it was wrong; I admit it_  
_I wish there was a way that I could make it alright_  
_I really wanna tell you that I put up a fight_  
_But that would be a lie_

_"And now I'm sick inside_  
_Yeah, it makes me wanna cry_  
_I'm so sorry about last night_  
_Yeah, it happened so fast_  
_I wanted it to last_  
_In the moment, it felt so right_  
_But now I'm sick inside_

_"Now I'm sick inside_  
_Yeah, It makes me wanna cry_  
_In the moment, it felt so right_

_"I'm just a girl who_  
_Kissed a boy who_  
Is in love with you." Tyler had stood up during her song and stood beside her, laying a hand on her shoulder. When the song was done, Loren handed him the guitar, before pulling Ella into a tight hug. The girl sobbed into Loren's shoulder, and Loren felt like her heart was breaking.

Ella pulled out of the hug and looked at Cam. "Do you love me?" She whispered, wiping at her cheeks. Cam looked down at his hands, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"I think I am falling in love with you." He whispered. Ella stood up and walked over to him, sitting down carefully on the bed next to him. He carefully took her hand in his. They were quiet and Loren quickly jumped off the bed.

"Cam, can we have the keys to the car? We will leave you guys to talk for a bit." She said, holding her hand out. He pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Loren. She, Tyler (who had finished packing up her guitar), and Mel quickly left the room, making their way out of the building.

They stopped by the car to grab the blanket that Cam's dad always kept in the trunk and then made their way to the beach. Tyler laid out the blanket for them. They sat down, removed their shoes and socks (in the case of Tyler and Loren), and Loren carefully opened her guitar case to take out her guitar. She began strumming nonsensical melodies with her eyes closed while Mel and Tyler talked about how beautiful it is by the water. Mel also started telling Tyler all about how Adam still hadn't asked her out, and they have been flirting for the last three years. She had dated other guys before—the most enjoyable ex of hers was the exchange student—but Adam still hasn't made his move. After awhile, Loren started playing some of the other songs she had written over the last few weeks. She was thinking about what she wanted to include on her album. She smiled softly as she came up with a melody that would go perfectly with the song she had written the night before for Tyler. Mel glanced at Loren, noticing the change as she began humming and then stopping suddenly and shaking her head. She figured that Loren was working on something important when she began playing the same thing over again, with a few tweaks here and there. Finally, she smiled and played through the song completely, feeling satisfied. "New song?" Mel asked.

"No, just the music to the song I wrote last night," Loren blushed. Mel wolf-whistled, winking at Tyler.

"You should hear that song…" She muttered under her breath, making Loren smack her shoulder. "I am going to go call Adam." She stood up and skipped away, pulling out her cell phone.

"What song did you write last night?" Loren bit her lip, blushing again. "Can I hear it?"

"Sure…I call this _Treacherous_," she said as she began to strum her guitar. She locked eyes with Tyler as she began singing the song quietly. She was embarrassed, because it was everything she was feeling about their tumultuous relationship; there were so many things that were telling her to not do this, but she couldn't help _wanting_ to be with him. When she finished the song, Tyler carefully took her guitar from her and placed it back in the case. He then slid his hand along her cheek to the back of her head and leaned forward, about to kiss her when her phone began chirping and buzzing loudly to indicate that she got a text. She jumped, pulling away from him to grab her phone when she realized the moment was ruined. "I forgot to turn off the sound…" She whispered as she opened the text message. "It is from Cam. He is asking where we are." She quickly texted him her response, while Mel made her way back over to the blanket and sat down.

"Yeah…Okay, Adam…right…I know…isn't your break over yet?" She said, rolling her eyes at Loren. "Okay, yeah, bye. Jeeze! He is more of a motor-mouth than me!" She said.

"Cam is on his way." Loren told her as she read the second text from him that she had received. "He has news for us."

"While we wait for him, want to take a walk?" Tyler asked. Loren nodded, setting her phone down by her purse and shoes. He stood, holding out a hand to her, helping her up. They walked along with their fingers interlaced towards the water. "I love the feel of the sand between my toes," Tyler said when they reached the water's edge. He released Loren's hand to lean over and readjust one of his rolled pants' leg. Suddenly, Loren felt a handful of cold, wet sand land on top of her head. She squealed, her eyes widening as she pulled a handful of sand off of her hair. Tyler laughed, clutching his stomach. Loren's eyes narrowed, and she tensed her jaw as she dropped the sand.

"Oh, this is war." She said, kicking sand and ocean water at him before she ran away from him, further into the water until it was slapping mid-calf. She heard Tyler splashing through the water after her, and she shrieked when she felt a splash of water hitting her from behind. She turned around and kicked even more water at him, so that it hit the front of him. She laughed when she saw that it looked like he peed his pants. "Have an accident?" She pointed to his waist and while he was distracted, she pushed past him, knocking him over so that he fell on his butt into the water. She threw her head back and laughed as she raced toward the sand. While Tyler stood up, completely soaked, and made his way towards her, Loren grabbed handfuls of sand and started pelting him with it. Tyler just shook his head, ignoring her, considering she was a pretty bad shot and only hit him in the chest a few times. He grabbed her into his arms and threw her over his shoulder, marching her back toward the water. When they made it to about waist-high, he threw her off of his shoulder and into the water, completely submerged. "Jerk!" She screeched when she pulled herself back out of the water and wiped her hair from her eyes.

Tyler pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight against his body with one arm while the other smoothed the rest of her hair from her face. "You look beautiful." He whispered, leaning down and pressing a light kiss on her lips. He pulled back, unsure about kissing her in public, giving her a questioning look. Loren shrugged her shoulders and then wrapped her arms around his neck to plant a much firmer kiss on his lips. Tyler wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her even tighter to his body, if that was possible. They were completely soaked by the water, but they didn't care. Loren finally broke the kiss, feeling breathless.

"Hi," she whispered. He smiled, pressing a light kiss to her lips, before stepping away from her.

"Hi," he whispered back. Grabbing her hand, Tyler led Loren out of the water and back toward their friends. Loren's eyes widened when she realized that Ella, Cameron, and Mel were all recording their make out session in the ocean. Mel was holding up both her phone and Loren's, Ella was recording on her own phone, and Cameron was recording on both Tyler's and his.

"Guys! Please don't post that." Loren muttered as she pulled her soaking wet sweater off and began ringing it out.

"Why not?" Ella asked, cocking an eyebrow as they all lowered the phones.

"Because we are trying to keep us a secret for a bit longer." Loren told her after she threw the wet sweater back over her shoulder. Ella just stared at her confused.

"We are trying to keep it out of the media, because Lo and I want to enjoy this for a bit before everyone starts getting into our business."

"Besides, I have to tell my mom first." Loren said, grimacing. "I am not sure how she is going to react to the idea that I am dating a guy so much older than me." She crinkled her nose and looked at Tyler.

"I am going to try my hardest to make your mom like me." Tyler insisted, grabbing Loren's hand and interlacing their fingers; he raised their clasped hands to his mouth, planting a light kiss to the back of hers.

"Stop being cute; it is nauseating." Mel moaned. Loren turned her attention to Cam and Ella.

"So?" Ella and Cam looked at each other for a moment, before they both smiled, their hands finding each other.

"Ella is my girlfriend." Loren squealed, pulling away from Tyler and wrapping an arm around their necks to pull them into a three-way hug. "Thanks. Why don't we go back to my room so that you can change into some of my clothes?" Ella said told Loren, looking her up and down.

"Yeah, I might have some extra sweats in the car that I was going to use for practice tomorrow that you can borrow Tyler." Cam said. They walked off the beach in the direction of Cam's car before making their way towards Ella's building. This turned out to be a pretty interesting and great weekend, in Loren's opinion.


	15. Chapter 15

**Somebody**

**A **_**Hollywood Heights**_** Story**

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything familiar.**

**Song Recommendation: **_**Mars**_** by Loren Tate/Brittany Underwood**

**Author's Note: I am sorry about the delay, but I have been trying to make this chapter perfect. It just didn't want to flow right for me, which was terribly frustrating. I realized that there was so much I still wanted to say about October, so I am planning on splitting it into two chapters. I'm hoping that the rest of it won't continue this way, but we shall see! **

**This chapter takes place during the first half of the month of October 2012: specifically, the 1****st****, 6****th****, and 7****th****. **

* * *

On Monday afternoon, when she got back from school, Loren sat her mother down to have a serious conversation with her. She had the plan that she was going to tell her mom about everything that had been going on in her life, including the kiss she had shared with Eddie, because it explained why she and Tyler had gotten so close so quickly. She was a little nervous about it, so she called to order pizza to be delivered at six so that she and her mom could just talk and not worry about anything else.

"Loren, I don't know why you are freaking out right now. Stop pacing, you are giving me whiplash." Loren stopped instantly, glancing at her mom before dropping onto the arm chair facing the couch that her mom was sitting on. "What is going on?" Suddenly, a look of horror passed over Nora's face. "Holy shit! Are you pregnant?" Loren's eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head vehemently.

"What? Mom, _no_!" Nora visibly sighed in relief, before she looked at her daughter in concern.

"Then, what is going on?" Loren took a deep breath before opening her mouth to begin. She told her mom everything, from start to finish, about what happened with her and Eddie. She talked about the songs that she wrote for him, what she thought about when they were and weren't around each other, their telephone conversations, their kiss, their lack of communication between the kiss and the music video shoot, what was going through her mind during the video shoot, the dinner with Tyler, the conversations she had with Eddie during the meeting relating to her album and the tour, her conversations with Tyler, her date with Tyler, the kiss with Cameron, how the kiss with Cameron led to her and Tyler getting together, all of the drama-filled twitter trends relating to Leddie and Lyler, all of the stuff that was happening at school with Adrianna and the sheep that followed the blonde dictator around, and driving to San Diego to save Cameron and Ella's relationship. They had to pause several times to go to the bathroom, pay the pizza guy, and to take a break because Nora's mind was reeling or Loren was near tears remembering all the pain and confusion she had felt with Eddie. Their talk lasted nearly three hours and by the end of it, Loren was emotionally spent. "I am going to need a few minutes before I really respond to all of it." Loren nodded her head and made her way into her room.

She signed into twitter to see what was going on with people. She wondered if she, Cameron, and Tyler were still the talk of the world. She was relieved to see that people had started to lose interest considering that Cameron had tweeted about how much he missed his girlfriend, Ella, with Ella responding that she loved Cameron, as well as Tyler tweeting about how much fun it was to take a day-trip to San Diego with Loren and her friends. People were still really confused about what the kiss all meant, but the fact that the four of them seemed to be okay and talking with each other and over it, the masses were starting to get over it, too. Some people still talked about how it was probably a publicity stunt or how much of a skank she was or how stupid Ella and Tyler were (because a couple of people started checking out Cameron's page, and by default, Ella's, after the pictures of Loren and Cameron were leaked by those pre-pubescent girls). Frankly, Loren was over all the drama. She decided that she was going to make a tweet (finally, considering she was silent since her last tweet before all of this drama started on Saturday). It took her a few moments to decide what it was that she wanted to say.

_Love_To_Love_You: So much has happened in the last few days. I have learned a lot about myself and about the people I have held dear for so long. Thank you…_

_Love_To_Love_You: …to all of the amazing people in my life who have helped me become the best version of myself that I can be. Without you, I would feel lost._

_Love_To_Love_You: I am so happy to have you all in my life. I love you. I hope that I will be lucky enough to have you in my life for the rest of time. XOXO_

She looked over the tweets, deciding that they were cryptic enough that her followers wouldn't know who she was specifically addressing, but they were specific enough that people like Mel, Adam, Summer, Emily, Lily, Ella, Cameron, and Tyler would know she was talking about them. (Well, maybe not so much the love aspect with Tyler, because they were definitely not at that stage yet, but she hoped that he knew what she where she was coming from with the overall message of her tweets.)

"Loren, can you come out here?" She closed her computer and carefully made her way into the living room to talk to her mom. She sat down on the arm chair again, wrapping her arms around her knees. "You aren't going to like what I have to say, but I expect that you are going to listen to me just as I listened to you over the last few hours about everything that had been going on in your life over the last month." Loren's jaw tensed when she heard her mom say that she wasn't going to like what was going to be said. "I don't want you dating Tyler."

Loren shook her head as she released her knees and put her feet on the floor. She stood up quickly and started to make her way back to her room. She wasn't going to listen to her mom bash Tyler; Nora was just going to have to deal with Loren and Tyler being together. "I don't want to hear this." She said as she walked away.

"Loren Elizabeth Tate, you will sit back down and listen to what I have to say. I am your mother, and I demand that you respect me. Now, go sit!" Nora said loudly, pointing at the arm chair again. Lore stopped, crossing her arms and glaring at her mother.

"I don't want to hear you bash my boyfriend, Mom."

"HE ISN'T A BOY, LOREN!" Nora yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. "He is nearly twenty-five years old. He is a grown man! He has a job that puts him in the limelight constantly! He has his own apartment! He is an adult! You most definitely do not live in your own apartment, nor do you have a job that would support you to live in your own apartment. You might be getting into the music business, but you won't be making any money anytime soon—not until your album is released and people start buying it. You don't have any idea what it takes to be an adult. YOU ARE A LITTLE GIRL!" Loren's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head.

"How dare you call me that!? I am not a child, Mom. I am eighteen years old. According to the law, I am legally an adult. I know that means nothing to you, because I am your kid and because I still live here, and I am still in high school, but I am most definitely not a child. You don't think that I haven't thought about all of the reasons why he and I don't make sense? You don't think that I know that he and I shouldn't be together? You don't think that I am not aware that there are so many things that are different between us? You don't think that I don't know that this probably isn't going to work out?

"I know all that, Mom. I know that he is an actor. I know that he lives in his own apartment. I know that he has this glamorous life in the media's eye. I know that he is older than me. I know that he has a string of girlfriends a mile long. I know that he is more experienced. I know he practically has a full sleeve of tattoos on his one arm and plenty of others elsewhere on his body. I know that I am just a high school student. I know that I am only just breaking out into the music business. I know that I am still working shifts at the coffee shop and doing calculus homework and watching movies with Mel on the weekends when I don't have work or school to worry about. I know that there are so many things stacked up against Tyler and me, but I like him, Mom. I like being with him. He doesn't make me feel like I am a dumb high school student. He doesn't make me feel like I am anything other than just Loren Tate, a girl with a lot of baggage because her dad bailed on her when she was barely out of diapers and who writes music about her life. He likes that Loren. He talks to that Loren about her friends, her mom, her life, her music. He has taken the time to get to know me, and he is willing to look past all of the differences between us. Frankly, I am willing to do so, too. If you really loved me, you would be willing to look past all of that, too. _For_ _me_, the daughter you supposedly love."

By the end of her rant, Loren could barely breathe. She was sure that her face was bright red and sweating and covered in tears. She pressed a hand to her head and took several deep breaths. She shook her head, trying to regain her composure. "Loren, it isn't fair of you to say that to me!"

"I'm sorry." She whispered after a moment. She didn't want to fight with her mom. She liked Tyler—a lot—and she didn't want to hear about all the reasons why their relationship wasn't smart, because she knew them all already.

"I am sure that he is a really great guy, Loren, but I don't think I am ever going to like him because he is so much older, because he so much more experienced, because he has been in tabloids so many times due to his affinity to Chloe Carter and Eddie Duran drama, as well as his numerous one-night stands with Victoria Secret's models, because he has all of those tattoos. I just…" Nora gave up, shaking her head. "I would rather you date Eddie for heaven's sake, and you know I am not too keen on that!"

"Eddie has tattoos, too! Are his okay, because the one on his wrist is of a cross and rosary beads?" Loren snapped, crossing her arms.

"Loren," Nora began, but Loren just shook her head.

"You don't even know him, Mom. You haven't once asked how I actually feel about him. You haven't even tried to find out about my relationship with him. It has only been one day, sure, but you haven't asked how I feel at all. Yes, I think we all know all about the differences between Tyler and me, but there are a lot of great things about him that supersedes all of the differences."

"Fine, tell me then." Loren sighed.

"He calls me or texts me every day, asking me how I slept or what I learned about in school or what Adrianna said that pissed me off or what book I am reading or what movie I want to go see with Mel. He texts me to tell me that he saw a rainbow or heard a song on the radio or saw a commercial and thought of me; he tells me everyday how beautiful and smart he thinks I am. He tells me that he misses me and that he can't wait until the next time we see each other will be. He tells me all about what his plans are and what he wants his character to do or what movie or show he would love to have stared in. He asks about my music. He makes me feel good about myself. He told me Saturday night that the day he and I first met—the first time that he saw me—he saw that I was sad and hurt and that the first instinct he had was to make me smile. That was all before he and I began dating. He jumped at the chance to help me fix Cameron and Ella. He drove to San Diego to support me and suggested that I write a song for Ella to show her how sorry I am. He told me that being around me has made him feel like a better person. I know that this happened really fast. Believe me; I wasn't planning on meeting him and becoming friends with him, much less starting to fall for him. I really like him, Mom."

"Okay." Nora said simply. "I don't like it, but I am your mom, and I love you. I want you to be happy, Loren, and if he is what makes you happy, then I will just have to learn to deal with it." Loren grinned, rushing forward to throw her arms around Nora's neck. "Wait! We still need to figure out some ground rules!"

"Sure, right! Ground rules!"

"I trust you, Loren, I do. I have always trusted your judgment. I never thought that you would do anything that would make me disappointed in you. That being said, I expect that nothing will change. You will be home when I tell you that you have to be home. You will call me if you need to stay out later or won't be home." Loren opened her mouth to speak, but Nora held a hand up in her face, telling Loren to wait a moment. "I don't want him in this house with you when I am not home, just as I never wanted Cameron here alone with you. He will never spend the night in this house. I would prefer it if you never slept at his apartment, but I am not naïve enough to think that you guys won't have sex."

"Mom!" Loren said quickly, shaking her head. "I am…you know that I haven't had sex before. I don't plan on losing my virginity any time soon."

"Okay." Nora took a deep breath. "I still would like to take you to the gynecologist to get examined and to start you on birth control pills and other forms of birth control. I don't want you to be unprepared and get pregnant before you have to go on tour." Loren nodded her head.

"That all sounds reasonable. Is there anything else?"

"There will be no drinking in public. If you have anything to drink, it will be here or it will be at his apartment, but there will be no driving after any alcohol consumption. Again, I would prefer it if you do not ever sleep at his apartment, but if you were to drink while there, you either would have to spend the night there or you could call me at any time, and I will come to get you. Other drugs are _not_ an option. If I so much as see a hint of any type of drugs in your system beyond alcohol, I will lock you up in your room and all of this—including the music thing—will be over. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom. I promise."

"Good. The final condition is that he comes over for dinner sometime soon."

"Alright, I will check with him to see when his schedule will allow it. I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Loren."

* * *

Five days later, Loren was walking into the recording studio with her mom and Mel at quarter to eight in the morning. She was sipping a hot tea, whereas her mom and Mel were drinking coffees. She gave Kelly and Jake a one-armed hug, smiling at them in greeting. She glanced around briefly, looking for Eddie who promised that he was going to be there, but she didn't see him. She greeted Daniel, who was representing the label for her first recording, last. She introduced everyone to her mom, who had yet to meet her representation and Daniel from the label.

"So, are you ready to get started?" Jake asked, clapping his hands. Loren's eyes widened for a moment before she nodded her head in excitement.

"Yes, I am. Let's get started."

"Great," Jake said, leading the way to the studio that they were going to be using. "So, today we are going to be working on the vocals. We are still looking for a band, so that is why we are only going to focus on the recording of the vocals."

"Can I record me playing my guitar just so I can hear the music in my head? We don't have to put them together, though." Loren said hesitantly. She didn't think that she was good enough at this yet, not enough to be able to hear the music in her head and to be able to sing the words well—not this early in the process. She could tell that everyone knew how nervous she was about this whole process, and Jake smiled kindly at her, nodding his head.

"That's fine," he said as they walked into studio. Loren glanced around. This one was bigger than the room that she had recorded her demo in. There was a sound engineer at the tables, and he glanced up briefly, waving. She didn't recognize him as the man who had been involved in her demo. She smiled at him, hearing Jake introduce the man as Ryan. Loren nodded her head, saying her hello. "So, which song would you like to get started on?"

"_Mars_, I guess?" Loren said, running a hand through her hair. She made her way into the sound booth, grabbing the acoustic guitar that was set up. She plugged it into the amp, running her fingers over the strings. She took a deep breath, playing through the song a few times before she stepped up to the microphone, ready to record it for the vocal recording. "I'm ready." She said into the mike, and Jake nodded his head, saying something to the sound engineer. At his nod, Loren began playing through the instrumental portion of her song.

When she was finished, she asked to hear the melody played back. It sounded fine to her, so she set the guitar aside and made her way back to the microphone, sliding the headphones in place. She took a deep breath and indicated that she was ready. The instrumentals began, and she opened her mouth to begin singing, but nothing came out of her mouth. She shook her head, waving her hand to tell them to restart it. "Sorry!" She called into the microphone, blowing out a breath.

"It's fine, Loren," Jake said.

"Can…Can I just take a minute?" Her hands were shaking. Mel put down her camera and waved her cell phone at Loren before leaning over it to text. Loren pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket, watching it light up with an incoming text from Mel.

_Mel: Lo, you have done this before. You did great the last time. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax. You are going to be amazing. Your mom and I are here for you._

Loren closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to relax slightly. She bent over her phone, texting Mel back.

_Loren: Thanks, Mel. I just…I am flustered. Eddie said that he was going to be here today, and I was relying on having his support. Not that I don't appreciate you and Mom being here…but…he promised._

She glanced up and saw Mel read the text before her eyebrows rose. She said something to everyone before pointing towards the hallway. Loren nodded, making her way out of sound booth and followed Mel out into the hallway, with Nora following them.

"Lo, honey, what's wrong?" Nora asked, wrapping an arm around Loren's shoulders.

"I am just nervous, Mom. I can't seem to focus."

"Yeah, apparently she is preoccupied considering Eddie told her that he would be here, and he's not." Loren narrowed her eyes at Mel. "What? That is what you just texted me."

"May I ask why you aren't concerned about Tyler being here? Since…you know, we recently had a big blow up over your relationship." Nora said, arms crossed.

"It isn't that I am more concerned about Eddie not being here; it is just that he promised me that he was going to be here. Today is such a big day, and he has been through all of this before, and he promised to be here. Tyler knew that I am recording today, because he was asking about whether or not we were going to be able to get together this weekend, but I told him that I was going to be here all day. So, he made plans to go home and visit his parents this weekend since we were getting together next weekend on Saturday before I have to work the night shift at the café."

"Don't you want your boyfriend here more than Eddie, though?" Mel asked her. Loren's brow furrowed at the look on Mel's face; she couldn't read it.

"Of course I would love to have Tyler here, but I would rather have a date with him next Saturday and spend the day together before I have to go to work than to have to hide the fact that he and I are dating from Eddie. I just wish that Eddie was here, because I am here because of him, so it feels weird that he isn't here for the recording of my first song on my first album."

"Why are you keeping your relationship with Tyler a secret from Eddie?" Nora asked, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

"Because Eddie hates Tyler, and I don't want to hear him say that Tyler is just using me to try and cause drama for him and Chloe, because he has said that plenty of times to me."

"Could he be?" Loren's jaw tensed as she glared at her mother.

"I don't think he is using her to cause drama for Eddie and Chloe at all, Nora," Mel said, laying a hand on Loren's arm. "You really need to see them together. They are really cute together." She pulled out her phone and searched for the video from San Diego of Loren and Tyler playing in the ocean. She showed the video to Nora, who smiled after a few moments. Her eyebrow cocked when she got to the end of the video, where Loren and Tyler were practically making out in the ocean. When the video finished, Nora stared at Loren.

"What?"

"It looked like you two are getting really _friendly_ really fast. Do we need to take a trip to the gynecologist sooner rather than later?"

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Mel looked like she was viewing a tennis match, looking back and forth between them, her mouth open. Just as Loren opened her mouth to say something to the two of them, they heard someone calling out her name. They glanced up, seeing Eddie walking up, rather quickly. "Hey, guys! Sorry about being late. I overslept." He grimaced, slowing as he got closer to them. He stopped beside them, looking uncomfortable for a moment before giving Loren a small side hug before quickly pulling away and hugging Mel. "Hi, I'm Eddie. You must be Loren's mom. It is nice to meet you, Ms. Tate."

"Nora, please." She said, leaning forward to shake Eddie's hand.

"Nora," Eddie said as he was shaking her hand. He glanced around, taking in that it was only the three of them standing there. "Where's Jake and Kelly?"

"In the studio. I needed a minute to collect myself." Loren said as an explanation. "Shall we?" She asked, leading the way into studio. She nodded her head at everyone in the room. "Sorry about that. I think I am okay." She made her way into the sound booth again. She made her way to the microphone and slid the headphones on. Once she got settled, she indicated that she was ready. The instrumental music started, and Loren took a deep breath before she began singing. "_They tell me it's nice this time of year / down on earth…_" She made her way through the song. When she was done, she crinkled her nose. "How was that?"

"It was good, Loren, really," Jake began, speaking into the intercom. "But, can you go through it again? We just need you to give a little more. Imagine every time you have felt something for someone, but you had to watch them from afar, even if you were in the same room as them. Imagine that invisibility and confusion and that feeling of being unfulfilled." Loren nodded her head. She had felt that way with Eddie, and she hoped that he didn't notice that she was refusing to look at him as she listened to what Jake was saying. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, indicating that she was ready to go again.

In the end, she wound up recording _Mars_ about five times before she decided to take a break to relax her voice. She made her way out of the booth, taking the warm tea with honey from Kelly who had stepped out to with an assistant who worked at the studio to collect their drink orders. "You are doing so great, honey!" Nora said, pressing a kiss to Loren's forehead. "You sound so beautiful."

"Thanks, Mom." Loren responded. She turned her attention to Jake, Daniel, and Ryan, the sound engineer. "What do you think? Do I need to run it again?" She was feeling pressured to make the song perfect, because so much was riding on this.

"It was good. There are a few more kinks that I know you can work out." Jake was telling her as he rested his hand against her shoulder. She nodded her head, taking a sip of her tea and closing her eyes. She rocked her head on her neck, trying to relax it, ignoring the small clicking noises that resulted from her neck cracking slightly. Her shoulders had been tense from the beginning.

"Loren, just take a few deep breaths. You are doing great, but you need to relax yourself. You are starting to hear the tension in your voice." Eddie told her. She nodded her head again, trying to follow his advice.

"Should I schedule a massage for us for when you get off work tomorrow afternoon?" Mel asked her, rubbing a hand on Loren's upper back.

"Isn't Tyler coming to dinner tomorrow night, Lo?" Nora asked, and Loren's eyes widened briefly before she settled a relaxed expression on her face. So, Nora wasn't going to let Loren keep it a secret from them after all. She took a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face.

"Yup," she said quickly, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't dare look at any of their faces, instead settling her gaze onto Ryan. "So, I was hoping that I could hear the last track of the song. I want to hear what I am missing from it."

"Tyler's eating dinner at your house tomorrow?" Eddie said strangely, ignoring Loren's question. Loren picked up the curiosity, irritability, frustration, and a variety of other emotions in his voice.

"Yeah, Loren promised that she would introduce me; it is the only way that I will feel even a modicum of comfort with the idea of the two of them dating." Loren's eyes shut for a moment.

"You're dating him?" Eddie asked, completely shocked. She turned her attention on him fully.

"Yes, he and I started going out last Saturday." She said as calmly as she could, considering he looked like someone kicked a puppy or pinched a baby.

"Why didn't you tell me that you two were together?" Eddie asked, ignoring them. His arms were crossed, and Loren rolled her eyes in frustration. "We talked last Saturday night. You told me that you worked everything out with Tyler and that you were concerned about Ella and Cam. You could have told me then that you two were dating. You keep saying we are friends, but you can't keep secrets like this from me. That isn't what friends do. I am worried about you, Loren. I don't want you to get hurt, and Tyler is bound to hurt you." Mel's eyes narrowed.

"You shouldn't be talking about doing things that are not entirely _friend_ly, Mr. Duran." She muttered, wrapping an arm around Loren's shoulder, who gave her a look that said that she could fight her own battles.

"Yes, well, I knew that this would be your reaction to my relationship with him. Frankly, I didn't feel like hearing you go on and on about how he is just using me or how horrible he is. I care about him, and I am going to be in a relationship with him." His jaw tensed, and he looked at Jake, Kelly, and even Nora desperately. As if any of them would be able to talk some sense into her.

"So, you are just going to ignore the fact that you kept your relationship with Tyler a secret from me?"

"I didn't think that I had to tell you about it, Eddie." Loren said, seriously. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't think that I have to tell you everything about my personal life; I know that you and I are trying to find our way back to a common ground and fix the friendship we had developed when we first met, but it is my business if I want to share my relationship status with you or not." She saw his jaw tick when she alluded to the difficulties they have been having staying friends, which didn't bode well for a tour. She knew that Jake, her mom, and Mel all knew what she was talking about, but no one else did, and they looked confused. "Besides, Tyler and I had barely been a couple for a few hours before you called, so it really didn't enter my mind to tell you about it." Loren paused, realizing that sounded weird. "I was preoccupied with the idea of needing to fix Cam and Ella, because I couldn't be happy with Tyler while they were miserable."

Eddie shook his head, his arms still tightly crossed. "You should have told me the truth, Loren. You promised that you were going to be honest with me and open up to me."

"Yeah, but I have the right to do those things at my own pace, Eddie." She said heatedly.

"Okay, so this isn't getting anywhere. Why don't we get back to the recording okay? Loren, why don't you head back into the sound booth and run through _Mars_ once more. I am sure it will sound just right this time. Eddie, if you don't knock this crap off, then you gotta go, because you are upsetting Loren. This is about her, not you." Jake said, directing Loren back towards the sound booth. She nodded her head and made her way into the sound booth.

Eddie stood in the same position he had been in for the last ten minutes. Loren wound up recording _Mars_ twice more before they finally found the version of it that they were most comfortable with. Loren then moved on to _A Perfectly Good Heart_, getting a final version of it after only three recordings of it. At that point, it was time to call for lunch, and Loren stormed out of the studio and into the parking lot, climbing into the front seat of her mom's car to think about how much of an ass Eddie was being at the moment.

It took her, Nora, and Mel about ten minutes to drive to a diner to get lunch. They sat at the counter, ordered sandwiches, fries, and drinks (water for Loren, sodas for them), which they ate quickly enough to be back within an hour. She didn't want to look at Eddie, and part of her wished that he hadn't returned to the studio after wherever he had gone for lunch with Jake and Kelly. After lunch, Loren was able to get through _Breathe_ relatively well; she only had to record the track five times before they found a great version of it to add to the album.

"Do you have any ideas for other songs you might want to include on the album?" Kelly asked her. Loren pulled her song book, looking through all of the songs that she had already written.

"Well, I definitely want to include _Butterfly Fly Away_ and _Catch My Breath_." Loren said, turning the corners down on the pages that she mentioned.

"I know that you are pretty pissed at me, but I really liked _Butterfly Fly Away_, and I was wondering if I could…" He paused. "Would you mind if I recorded the chorus or something with you?" Loren's eyebrows rose in shock. "It…just…the song makes me think of my mom." Loren took a deep breath for a moment before nodding her head. She could understand that the song about how special a relationship between a child and her mother would resonate with him, considering that his mom was no longer alive. "Thanks. What about the songs that you sang to me?" Loren's brow furrowed as she tried to think about what songs he meant.

"I am not recording _Superstar_." She said quickly, figuring that is what he meant. Eddie laughed, shaking his head.

"As much as I would love that, but what about _Who Says_ and _One Fine Wire_?" Loren smiled as she thought of the two songs. She liked that they were motivational in a way, which is a message she definitely wanted to portray to her fans, especially the younger ones.

"Yeah, they would be great," she said as she searched for the songs in her song book to mark the pages.

"I know a couple of songs you should record." Mel said; the smile on her face was dangerous. Loren had shown her some of the songs she had written in private, like _Realize_, _Teardrops on My Guitar_, _Tonight, I'm Getting Over You_, and _What I Wanted to Say_, but she had been present when Loren had written _I Almost Do_ and most importantly, _Treacherous_. "My personal favorite is _Treacherous_."

"I will give it a lot of thought. I still have some writing to do." Loren said, turning her attention back to Jake and Daniel. "I do want to include the songs that were mentioned." She looked over at Mel. "Including, _Treacherous_." Mel squealed, clapping her hands.

"What is _Treacherous_?" Eddie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"It is such a sexy song! I LOVE IT! Seriously, it is my favorite song that Lo has written, and I love all of her songs."

"Sexy?" Nora asked, shocked. Loren blushed, shaking her head.

"It isn't what Mel is making it sound like." She glared at Mel. "It is relatively new, and I need to flush it out with a band before I would feel comfortable recording it. When do you think that the band situation would be worked out?" Loren asked Jake.

"What about the guys she worked with for the demo? That Wyatt guy. And, the other dude…what was his name? Brad?" Mel asked.

"I did like them," Loren agreed. "I really liked what they came up with for _Mars_, _Breathe_, and _A Perfectly Good Heart_."

"I don't know. They work for the studio, right? We can't exactly steal them from their jobs here." Eddie said quickly, crossing his arms. Loren and Mel shared a look, remembering how weird Eddie had acted around Wyatt.

"I think that they would jump at the chance to be in a band." Mel said pointedly. "I mean, Wyatt and Loren really hit it off. Although, we will have to tell him to keep his hands to himself. You are a taken woman." Loren rolled her eyes.

"I will talk to them. I think that you are right about them, girls." Jake said, making a note in his tablet with his Stylus.

"Oh, and we need some female vocals, too." Loren said quickly. "So, background singers or other band members who are female would really round out my songs." She knew that it would layer the songs well when they were performed.

"That is a good idea. I will see about getting a female keyboardist or something. Maybe another guitarist or bassist." Loren nodded, thinking that sounded pretty good. "Alright, we got a lot of work done today. When's the next time we can get you into the studio? Ryan, what days are you open? We want another full-day, if we can help it."

"We had two cancelations next Thursday, so we could do another eight-to-five session then?" Ryan said, after looking at the schedule book that he had in the office.

"No," Loren and Nora said at the exact same time. Loren grinned when everyone except Mel looked up at them in shock, because they sounded exactly the same. "I am not missing school." Loren said. "If I can't do an all day session, then we will have to focus on one song at a time. I do need time to write. My schoolwork won't suffer, either. Oh, and I have work at the café."

"Loren, this is your career we are talking about." Kelly said in a tone that implied that Loren was stupid or a child.

"Yeah, well, she needs to get her high school education." Nora said firmly.

"But," Kelly began, but Loren shook her head.

"I will finish my senior year and graduate with my friends." Loren told her, adamant. "If it is going to be between my career and high school, then I chose school. I have my backup plan of college and being a lawyer. I will be completely happy doing that, but I need to finish high school."

"Okay, we understand. Do you have any open spots on weekends or the afternoons?" Jake asked.

"Wednesday afternoon is open from four to eight. Would that work?" Loren nodded her head. She didn't have work that night. "Alright, I will put you down for then. We have Saturday morning from eight to noon." Ryan said next.

"Can't. I have plans with Tyler." Loren said, which earned sighs of exasperation from Jake and Eddie. "I am not going to bail on Tyler. I have work in the afternoon."

"Loren, you don't need to work at the café anymore." Mel said seriously. Loren looked at her in shock.

"What?"

"You don't. You aren't going to college next year. You are going to be on tour. Even if it is only for a year or something, you will have enough money from that to put towards college."

"She is right, Loren." Nora said. "I know that you don't want to bail on Gina and the girls, but it is the one thing in your schedule that can give."

"I know that Adam needs some extra cash…" Mel said in a sing-songy voice. "Apparently his parents aren't going to pay for all of his indie music crap." Loren laughed, knowing how much that probably hurt Adam to hear.

"So, you think he would take my job at the café?" Loren asked.

"Yeah, I do. If he can't do the afternoon shift on Saturday, then I will work for you, then you can have your date with Tyler then."

"Okay, I can do the Saturday morning then." Loren told Ryan. They worked out a few more three or four hour blocks of time over the next few weeks when Loren could come into the studio. They would probably only get through one song during the next five times she was going to be in the studio, but they were shooting for the album to be released in January, so they still had some time to kill.

Loren was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted by the time that day was over. Loren had recorded the vocals for three of her songs. She wasn't finished writing the album, nor was she sure where she wanted to have them positioned on the album until she had all of the songs written and recorded. She insisted that she got complete creative control over that aspect of the album, because it was her music that was being presented to the world. Loren wanted nothing more than to go home and get some sleep, even though it was barely five. Only about eleven or twelve songs to go, she kept telling herself.

As she was getting ready to leave, Eddie grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her from the room to get some privacy. "I don't like that you and him are dating."

"It doesn't matter if you like it or not, Eddie. It matters how Tyler and I feel. We like each other, and I don't intend on breaking up with Tyler anytime soon." She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "How many more times do I need to say this? You chose Chloe, so now you have to deal with the consequences that come from that decision. I accepted that choice, so now I have decided that I am going to live my life to the fullest, which happens to include a relationship with Tyler Rorke. Get over yourself. This whole gigantic ego needs to disappear. You can't control me or who I date." With that, Loren popped her head into the studio to say her goodbyes to Jake, Kelly, Ryan, and Daniel and to direct her mom and Mel from the room. She needed to get home, curl up in bed, and tell Tyler everything that had happened to her that day.

* * *

The dinner with her mom and Tyler wasn't as horrible as she was afraid it was going to wind up being. Tyler brought her mom a bottle of wine that turned out to be from her favorite kind of grape and from the part of Italy that she loved to get wine from and from her favorite winery or something, so she gushed like crazy when he presented it to her. Plus, he gave them both a small bouquet of flowers—Loren's favorite flowers, orange tulips, and for Nora, a mixture of flowers, because he didn't know what her favorites were. On top of that, he had dressed up in a pair of dress pants and a blue button-up shirt; he rolled the arms up and proceeded to help Nora with dinner, while Loren set the table and washed the dishes that were used as the dinner was prepared.

The entire time, he cooed over the dinner, saying it was the best chicken and rice that he had ever had, making Loren roll her eyes at how her mom blushed about his kind words. He asked Nora about her job, about her friendship with Ellie, about how things were going with Don. He kept the conversation primarily about Nora, wanting to get to know her. Eventually, Nora stated that it was time for her to get to know him. He answered all of her questions. She asked him about his parents: Joy and Robert Rorke, who had met in high school, married halfway through college (both of them pursuing degrees in religion from Fresno Pacific University, with Robert going back for his master's degree from the same school to become a minister). He talked about how he would go fishing with his dad on Saturday mornings and how he would help his mom make a huge dinner for the members of his dad's congregation that didn't have families to enjoy a Sunday dinner with.

He talked about his food is salmon, but his favorite meal was actually chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, eggs, and orange juice, which he always ate with his parents before church on Sunday mornings. He talked about how he wanted to be a pediatrician when he was young, because he always loved hanging out with the kids at the church nursery and would volunteer for the children's youth group when he was in high school. He would always go home during the summers for a few weeks after his show finished filming for the season to work with the kids form the churches and the acting clubs in the high schools to put on a big play or musical after a month of rehearsals, even paying for some of the sets and stuff himself. He talked about how he wanted to have a big family, because his mom couldn't have any more kids after she had him, and being an only child kind of sucked, because he wanted to play with other kids. He swore that he wasn't looking for kids anytime soon, though, when Nora looked like she was going to pass out. He talked about how yellow was his favorite color, because it reminded him of the sun. He talked about how he loved rock and roll, despite the fact that his parents were very much into Christian music and gospel music.

Loren noticed how much her mom was relaxing more as she got to know Tyler, who was unashamed of his past, including some of the bad things that had come to life, like his DUI when he was underage during the first year that he had moved to LA, or how he had gotten his first tattoo on the upper left side of his back, because Chloe said that it would look cool and that his dad cried when he saw it, because it was of a black devil's pitchfork. When he saved up more money, he got it filled in to be a cross. He talked about how he thought that he was going to marry Chloe, which is why he lost his virginity to her, but realized when she wasn't in love with him like he was in love with her when they were in high school. He talked about all of that and more, and Loren learned so much more about her boyfriend. Everything only made her like him more.


End file.
